


Nen Feaster; Part 1: The Boy and the Burden

by Equalization



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Chimera Ant Arc, Curses, Duty, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Hunter x Hunter - Freeform, Leaving Home, Nen (Hunter X Hunter), Other, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:28:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29932728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Equalization/pseuds/Equalization
Summary: An ancient curse, a boy with dreams as bright as the stars, and a chaotic force of creatures full of wickedness and malice. A simple boy leaves his home, leaves familiarity, to charge into a dark and unknown world where a race of malicious creatures await him. Though terrifying, this boy must not be deterred, as these creatures hold the key to freeing his people, and restoring their once great and humbling power. Though his path is clear, his naivety and compassion may cause him to stray to a new and more dangerous path, making an enemy out of a frightening force. Will it prove to be his downfall?This is the story of Nen Feaster: A tale about a boy who leaves his home to find a cure for his people's curse. In his quest he will come face to face with the Chimera Ants, just before the Hunters' strike on the palace of Gorteau. Will his intervention lead to a more peaceful outcome for both human and chimera? Or will it merely make things far worse?
Kudos: 4





	1. Introduction: A Naïve Boy

# Introduction:

In distant lands, two races are at war. A race of monstrous beasts known as the Chimera Ants, have risen up to take what they please. The king of the beasts has just been birthed, and he and his elites have taken up roots and a land known as Gorteau, killing its previous ruler and claiming the title for themselves. A group known as the Hunter's Association are forming plans to take on and kill these creatures before they can harm anyone else. However, such a battle will end in catastrophe on both sides, but a new force will soon be upon the battlefield to tip the scales and alter the course of this war.

There is a small island, more or less forgotten by the massive continents that surround it. This island lacks a name, as nobody has claimed it. Well, it doesn’t lack a name, technically speaking. In reality, it has gone by many names. “The Isle of the Strange,” “The Backwards Place,” “The Overlooked.” Many names have passed by. Many are forgotten, many more confused with something else, but the one constant is that… nobody outside remembers that place. Nobody outside remembers its people. A single civilization lies there, and they have lived there for generations. These people were once mighty and powerful, having abilities that would tear apart the seams of reality itself. A power terrifying to outsiders. That changed one day. Now, they live in agony and constant torment. However, there’s one boy, since he was old enough to understand things, that wanted to change that; that wanted to bring back that old strength that his proud people once had. Of course, many wished the same thing before he was even a thought in the universe; however, what’s different this time, is something chaotic is stirring overseas… something that could change not only that tiny, forgotten island, but the whole world forever.  


# Chapter 1: A Naïve Boy

This boy, Eli is his name, was spending the evening in the same way he always did. He had just eaten dinner with his family, a heap of great-boar steaks with a lovely onion soup, and his belly was more than satisfied. This boy, well, it didn’t take much to satisfy him. Sometimes all it took was a simple smile from another and he was happy. This small boy was sat in his room, writing. He would sit at his desk in the evening light, casting a long shadow as he interrupted the sun. He wrote stories, wrote them often. He always had dreams of inspiring others, of making others feel better about themselves. The story he was working on was one that he dreamed up when he learned about knights from a distant land.

He muttered to himself as he wrote, “…and as the mighty warrior rose his hefty blade into the air, preparing to strike the final blow against the monster that plagued his land, his eyes met with the creature’s, and they shared a gaze at one another. The warrior saw fear in the monster’s eyes, and in the warrior’s eyes, the monster saw nothing but… pity. ‘Perhaps…’ the warrior started as he lowered his blade. ‘… this need not end in blood shed.’” He always narrated what he wrote, and his little sister, sneaking around the door way, would listen to his every word. Eli always knew she was listening, so he made sure his little sister had a hero to dream about. After a while, the stories became less about Eli’s own desires, and more about creating something for his little sister to look up to.

“Katar.” Eli called her name as he turned to see her at the doorway. “What did you think?” He asked. “So… the monster didn’t die?” Katar asked. She was only six, and didn’t understand the more complicated details of the world, so Eli always had to speak in simple terms. Eli was smart, one of the smartest in his primitive village, though he was by no means a genius from the outside world’s standards. “No, the warrior let him live.” Eli never chose proper names for his characters, thus the reason they were called “The Warrior,” and “The Monster.” “Why? Didn’t the monster hurt people?” “Well, yes, it did, but that wasn’t the monster’s fault.” “What do you mean?” Katar asked, looking at her brother with her deep brown eyes. Her blonde hair shined brightly in the light, a complete contrast to Eli’s pitch-black hair, which swallowed up any light.

“The monster was told to hurt people from the moment it was born. It didn’t know any better, and so it hurt people.” “I don’t get it.” She said. Eli sighed, then said, “You remember when there was a loose leg on one of the stands at the Farmer’s Lane?” “Mhm.” Katar said meekly. “You reached for it to pull it out, but you didn’t. Do you remember why?” “Because momma said not to because the stand would fall and hurt someone.” “That’s right. Now, what would you have done if mom told you to instead pull the leg as hard as you could?” “I would have done it.” Katar didn’t understand why Eli was asking this. “Exactly. The monster was just a child, like you. They were learning things, like you were. The monster was told to hurt people, so they thought it was okay.” “Oooh.” Katar said, but without any other words, she wandered off, completely disregarding the whole conversation. Eli sighed and said, “Maybe she’ll get it when she’s older.” He turned back to his book and finished the page before going to bed.

The next morning, he woke up right as the sun began to peek over the horizon. It was a day where he didn’t have anything to do. He had school, as all young boys did, but today there were no classes. He still woke up early anyway, because he read in one of his school’s books that having a strict sleep schedule was important for health, so he always went to bed once the sun had set, and woken up once it rose. It had been this way for him for years. As always, he went into the main room of his home to see what his family was up to. His mother was in the living room, mending a hole in one of Katar’s shirts. “Good morning, mom.” He said. It was another part of his routine. He often said the same things every day. “Good morning Eli.” His mother said in return.

It was the same answer every time. Eli was as used to hearing the same things as he was to saying them. However, he’d get something different this time. “What’s new?” Eli asked. He was used to hearing the answer, “Nothing.” Sometimes he’d hear about an accident someone else in the village had, but nothing ever serious, and no information other than that. Today, however, he had a different answer. “The Wise One had a vision.” His mother said. “What did she see?” Eli asked. He was happy to have something new to talk about. “Something that she wants to talk with you about.” Eli was confused, but excited. Something new, for the first time in a long time, was finally happening. “She wants to talk to me?” “Yes. You should go. It’s best to not keep her waiting.”

With that, Eli left his home and went towards the center of the village, where the Wise One lived. He made sure to grab his wool cap before he left. That cap kept him warm on some very cold nights. It was a gift made by his grandmother that was given to Eli’s father, and then passed down to Eli. He wore it everywhere he went, sometimes even believing it to be some kind of token of good luck. He walked out the front door, and as he did every morning, he tripped. It had happened so many times now that he knew how to catch himself. He quickly stuck out his hands, taking a form like one you’d take when doing push-ups. “Nice try.” Eli muttered as he got himself up. His hands stung slightly from the pressure of the fall, the blood getting pushed away, turning his palms pale white. He didn’t care, really. It had happened so many times that he had gotten used to it. He had the calluses to prove it. He moved on, the stinging subsiding as he did.

He walked through the familiar dirt roads of his home. The many stone homes stood tall and proud above the dirty streets, casting long shadows in the morning light. Eli had walked these streets countless times. It was familiar to him, in every way. He almost memorized every difference of every brick on every house, even after they were changed. The stone homes that littered the village of Eilsar were remnants of something that was lost long ago. People had advanced here, but suddenly regressed, leaving none of their technology behind. Their only remnant was these stone buildings, standing here for ages. His people were happy to have homes, and these homes were happy to have his people. They have given protection to the people of this island for longer than anyone could remember.

Eli turned a corner and came to a much busier street. This was the Farmer’s Lane. It was a long street where the farmers set out their crops, allowing people to take some to their homes to prepare morning meals. As Eli walked down the street, many people looked at him, trying not to make it obvious, but Eli knew. Everyone knew who Eli was, but that didn’t mean Eli had any friends. In truth, when people looked at Eli, he only noticed looks of spite and fear, so Eli made it a point to never look at them for long, or at all if he can help it. He tries to ignore it as best he can, but it’s hard. The walls around Eli’s patience had been worn down over the years, as he’s had these harsh glares on him for as long as he can remember. People would shift away from the center of the street where Eli was walking whenever he got close, trying not to get anywhere near them. Eli was used to this treatment, everyone avoiding him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt by it.

As quickly as he could, without looking any more foreign than he already did, he got out of the Farmer’s Lane and into an emptier street. There were still others there, and as Eli passed, he heard their hushed tones, sharing the rumors that had been said about him. Almost all of them true. Eli hated that they were true. Before his anguish could become too much, he rushed to the central building. The men there let him in without question or word. Eli walked in, and inside the familiar glass chamber, stretching high above the ground, was the Wise One. She was sitting on a pillow with a tea set in front of her. “Eli, it’s so good to see you!” She said cheerfully. In truth, Eli’s family and the Wise One were the only ones to ever treat Eli with any amount of kindness. “O’siyo, Wise One. It’s nice to see you as well.” Eli said. “Oh, please deary, don’t call me by that name, it makes me feel so old!” She hooted. The Wise One was the oldest person in the village, being one hundred and one years old. “Okay, Ms. Amelia.” “That’s better. Now, sit, have some tea.” Amelia gestured toward a tea set on the outside of the glass chamber that was meant for Eli. “You remember how to make it, don’t you?” Amelia asked. “Of course.” Eli answered. 

Eli moved over to the tea set and sat on his knees on the pillow in front of it. Eli began making the tea as Amelia began asking questions. “So, Eli, how is school?” She asked. “Oh, the usual. I have top marks on everything.” Eli’s focus was mostly spent on the tea set. “Made any friends?” “You know the answer to that.” Eli sighed sadly. “It’s always polite to ask.” Amelia said. “I know… I’m sorry.” “That’s alright Eli. I know you don’t like talking about that. What’s got you upset?” Amelia was a polite and kind woman, always taking the feelings of others into consideration. “Well… I went through a crowded street to get here, and I could see them staring at me…” Eli said. “The wound hasn’t healed yet, I know. It will take time, but they’ll soon remember who was really to blame for that horrendous accident.” That didn’t really make Eli feel any better, so he just gave her a solemn nod. At that point, Eli had finished making his cup of tea. He brought it up and took a sip. Eli was never great at making tea, but this time it was spot on. It was good enough for him to actually crack a smile. 

Now that his mind wasn’t busy with the task of making tea, Eli remembered why he came here in the first place. “Oh, Ms. Amelia. Why did you want me to come here?” He asked her. “Yes… it would be best if we got to that.” Amelia said as she set down her cup of tea. She got a more serious look on her face, and it sent a chill down Eli’s spine. “Eli…” She started, sending another chill through the boy. “do you remember what your life-long dream was?” She asked. “Of course… I want to free everyone. I want to get rid of their Shades.” “Indeed… and how many times have you tried?” “More than I can count… plus, I don’t think my attempts would have ever worked… I used stuff like sticks, stones and prayers.” Eli said, getting a little upset as he thought back on all of his failed attempts. “I believe there may be a way after all.” Amelia said. 

Eli sat straight up, no longer having the look of grief on his face. Instead, he looked on in anticipation. “What!? What is it!?” Eli asked ecstatically. “I had a vision, and in this vision, I saw a band of powerful creatures. In a land to the distant south, these creatures have taken over an empire, and are slowly expanding.” “What are they?” “I’m not sure, but all I know is that they are incredibly powerful… they possess the same abilities that our ancestors did, before the curse.” Eli’s breathing got shaky, his mind racing at the implications. “You think… they’re strong enough to lift the curse?” Eli asked. “Perhaps… but there is only one way to find out.” “What must be done?” Eli was ready to do anything. 

Ever since the incident, it has been Eli’s dream, or rather his duty to lift the curse on his people. He knew it would be the only way that people would accept him, and forgive him for what happened. “You must travel to the southern-most point of this island. It is there that a boat will be waiting for you. Tell them I sent you, and they’ll help you in any way they can.” Amelia said. She pointed at the tea set in front of Eli. “Under the cloth on your table is a map. Your destination is marked in red.” She added. Eli took out the map and looked at it. It was a map of the known world. There was one continent with a red circle drawn on it. “Okay… won’t it take a while to get through the island and to the boat?” Eli asked. “Not if you go straight through.” The safer route to get to the other side of the island was to go around its coast. Nobody ever dared to go straight through the middle. “What!? But… what about the Deadlands?” Eli asked. 

He was afraid of that place. Everyone was afraid of that place. It was a barren place, where nothing grows, and everything dies. “Going through it is the only way. You will have to be courageous.” Amelia said. “I…” Eli was having second thoughts. “You must. It’s the only way to lift the curse.” “Alright… alright, I’ll do it!” Eli said with a renewed confidence. “Good… now, you must know that you have to go alone.” “I… I see.” “Pack for a long journey. It should take maybe a day or two for you to get there.” “Yes ma’am.” Eli tucked away the map into his pocket. He got up to leave, but Amelia stopped him. “There is something I must warn you about.” She said. Eli turned to her and listened. “There are many ways that you could die on this journey. Nobody would blame you if you decided to give up and go home.” 

Eli thought about this for a moment, but only a moment. He shook his head and smiled before saying, “There’s no way. I’ll see this through to the end. Besides, it’ll be fun getting to see new things.” He gave her a confident smile. Amelia nodded and said, “I expected no less. Still though, I will tell you this: you will come to a path between two dead trees. That is the point of no return. Once you go past those trees, there is no turning back.” “I understand.” “Also, you should know that these creatures that you are going to find are not peaceful. They are dangerous, and they do not trust humans. It will take some convincing to get them to help you.” “Okay… what do I say?” Eli asked. 

He wasn’t very independent. Eli often needed direction, otherwise he’d feel lost and confused. “You know I can’t tell you that.” There was only one rule about Amelia’s visions: you cannot ask for the finer details. If you knew the future, then it would change, without a doubt. “Right… I think I should prepare now.” Eli said. Amelia nodded and said, “Good luck, Eli. Your people are counting on you, even if they don’t know it yet.” Eli gave her a nod then left. 

Eli went home to tell his family the news. They were worried, as any family would be, but they understood, and they knew they couldn’t convince Eli not to go. Eli packed some things: food, spare clothes, things you’d need for a journey. Him and his family went to the edge of the village. He looked down the long stone steps leading down into the forest surrounding the burrowed-out mountain that his people called home. He turned to his mother, being met with a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you Eli. Please, come home safely.” She said. “I will mom, I promise.” Eli said. His mother let go and brought out a metal cylinder. 

It took Eli a moment to remember what it was called. “That’s, uh… a thermos.” He said. They were hard to come by, and normally reserved for the hunters of the village to keep food fresh on long journeys. “Yes. My onion soup is in it. Give it to those creatures as an offering.” She said as she handed it to Eli. “Thank you.” Eli turned to his father. “Son… be careful out there.” He said. Eli’s father was a man of few words, but what few things he said meant more than anything. Eli gave him a confident nod. 

Eli got on one knee so he could be on eye level with his little sister. “When are you going to get back?” Katar asked. “When I find a way to lift the curse on our people.” Eli said. “When will that be?” “I don’t know, but I promise, as soon as I find a way to help everyone, I’ll rush back here as fast as I can.” “Okay…” Katar said. Eli gave her a hug goodbye then started walking away from the village. He paused half-way down the stairs and looked up to his family. They waved at each other one final time before Eli vanished into the forest. 

Eli trekked through the forest, listening to the leaves crunch underneath his boots, and the birds chirping above him. Eli was, of course, afraid of this journey. He had never gone far from home, the furthest he had ever gone was the edge of the forest to help his father with a few traps and to hunt. Now that Eli had gone a good distance into the forest, and felt the coolness of the shade, seeing no signs of any danger, he felt much more confident. “Well… this isn’t so bad.” Eli said, walking at a faster pace. “Yeah, this is fine… I bet we’ll be there in no time.” Eli was beginning to gain more confidence. He kept moving, but as he usually did, he tripped, causing Eli to fall over. Unfortunately for Eli, there was a large hole in the path he was falling. He fell in, instantly being engulfed by darkness.


	2. The Hidden Glade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli's journey takes a turn right at the beginning. One false move and he's found himself in a mysterious glade hidden beneath the forest surrounding his home. It's a curious and oddly peaceful place; a perfect place for meditation if you were alone, but unfortunately for Eli, he's not.

# Chapter 2: The Hidden Glade

Eli woke up surrounded by tall, thick blades of grass. It was a kind that he had never seen before. He looked up at the hole he fell into, the sunrays illuminating the immediate area, but not much else. He stood up and took a look around. He was in some kind of underground glade. It stretched for an unknown distance in all directions. He looked up and saw that the many trees of the forest above were holding the ground, stabilizing it, making the floating roof of this dark cave. “This is crazy.” He said. He kept looking around, seeing if there was a way out, as the hole above him was too high to reach. He panned around the darkness, eventually seeing a light in the distance. From that light he could see a rope hanging above. “Good. That’s how we’ll get out.” Eli said. He picked up his bag, gathering all of the items that spilled out of it, and proceeded towards this light. He moved on, the thick blades of grass gripping onto his legs as he moved through. 

He quietly stepped through the hidden glade, seeing if there were any features that could be seen, but there was nothing but tall grass and darkness in all directions. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Eli then thought about that statement. “Well, I haven’t seen a lot, so that isn’t surprising… I guess I should say I’ve never ‘read,’ about anything like this.” Eli reiterated. He didn’t like redundancy. He felt like people should always say what they mean and not just dart around the subject. He’d often rephrase things in his stories, but because of that straight to the point attitude, he often missed out on the chance to place something more poetic in his stories. He didn’t always place metaphors in his stories because of this. 

Eli kept moving through the strange and mysterious place that he’d found himself in. He marveled at it. He even began to feel at peace in this place. It was something new and exciting, and he was enjoying the moments he had in there. Suddenly, cutting off his excitement, Eli noticed a shadow move in the corner of his eye. He looked over to see what it was. For the briefest moment, he could have sworn that he saw something in the grass. The blades swayed like a puddle of water that had been disturbed by a pebble being tossed in. Before he could look closer, something jumped at him from behind. He felt the movement and turned around. 

For a split second, he saw the creature leaping high off of the ground and falling toward him. Before it could sink its massive teeth into him, it was suddenly forced aside, falling over into the grass, becoming obscured once more. Eli ran away the moment he realized he hadn’t died yet. He rushed toward the light in the distance. As he ran, he noticed the grass get disturbed in several more places. There was at least a dozen of these creatures, and they were hungry. They rushed toward Eli, excited for the kill. Another pounced toward Eli, but a second that was far too eager collided with the first, stopping them both. The two beasts fought with each other, angry at their failure. 

Eli was getting close to the rope now. He leapt to close the gap and grabbed onto the rope, his momentum causing him to swing forward a bit. As soon as he was stable, Eli began to climb. One of the beasts jumped after him and grabbed onto his leg. For a moment, Eli could see what these creatures looked like. They were large and four legged, though their front legs had something vaguely resembling a hand. The skin on their backs took on an appearance like stone, and hairs that looked like the blades of grass grew high on them. Their faces were flat, their snouts barely sticking out. They had large sharp teeth that would rip apart anything unlucky enough to be caught by them. The creature had a tight grip on Eli’s leg, and it didn’t look like it was letting go anytime soon. Before the creature could break Eli’s leg, an indention began to form on its arm. The indention got deeper and deeper until the creature’s arm was sliced off. The creature backed off and rolled on the ground, screeching in pain. Eli took the opportunity to escape. 

He climbed out of the hole and to safety. Eli saw a large stone, which was what the rope had been attached too. Eli quickly untied the rope and tossed it into the hole, making sure the creatures couldn’t follow him. He took a moment to catch his breath. He wasn’t used to running for his life. His heart was beating fast and hard, something he wasn’t used to. He went over to a nearby tree and leaned against it. “Oh man… that was… intense.” Eli said as he came to a rest. As Eli caught his breath, he didn’t notice another hostile creature slowly climbing down the tree towards him. Before it could reach him, the creature’s head was split from its body, both limply falling to the ground, drenching Eli in blood. His eyes went wide as the body fell in front of him. “Well… damn.” Before he could look at the body for long, the creatures from the hidden glade started climbing out of the hole. They were all coming out at once, delaying their escape. Eli took the few precious seconds to get a head start. 

He ran into the woods, back in the direction he was planning to go in the first place. He stepped over several fallen trees, fighting against the brush that tugged at his heels. His main focus was to keep himself from falling over, as every step counted against these creatures. Eli was fast, but not nearly as fast as a hungry animal looking for a fresh kill. The only reason the creatures hadn’t already caught up with him was because the closely packed trees were slowing them down. Eli rushed through the forest, occasionally looking back at the creatures, which were hot on his heels. As he looked back another time, he didn’t notice an approaching cliff. He fell down, landing on something large and soft. He fell off of the mysterious object and looked at what it was. It was massive, almost as big as his house. It started moving as Eli inspected. Eli’s fall had woken it up. Eli took a few steps back as it uncurled, revealing itself to be some kind of massive bear. “Are you kidding me!?” Eli yelled. The bear roared at him, giving Eli the signal that it was time for him to start running again. 

He rushed back into the forest, only just keeping ahead of the glade beasts and his new threat. Again, he had the trees to thank for his survival, as they had gotten larger and closer together, being capable of now slowing down the bear, just the same as the smaller beasts. In addition to that, the glade beasts and the bear were now competing with one another. The glade beasts were jumping on the bear, trying to shift it off balance, but the bear was too powerful and too determined to reach Eli to stop. 

Eli knew that he couldn’t keep this up forever, and that they’d soon catch up if he didn’t do anything. Luckily, he was awarded a boon. He heard the sound of a strong river close by. He shifted his direction toward the river. He soon came to it. The river had carved out a valley, cutting deep through the dirt. As Eli got close, the bear tried to close in. It knocked over a dead tree in its attempt to reach Eli. The tree fell over, rolling into the water and being swept by the southward current. It was another boon. Eli started to feel like someone was watching over him. He jumped down into the large river bed and rushed toward the water. He jumped toward the massive dead tree, landing just short of it. He started swimming to the tree. The current helped him along, and he reached his makeshift raft without issue. He grabbed on and climbed to the top. 

He was quickly taken by the current. The creatures flocked around the edges of the river, trying to find a way to reach Eli. The water was too deep, and the current too strong for them to get to him. The bear, seeing how Eli would soon be long gone, decided to go for easier prey. The bear turned to the glade beasts and began attacking them. It caught one by surprise, snatching it up in its jaws, severing it into three pieces with one strong bite. The others retaliated by attacking the bear. They were locked in a massive battle before long. Eli watched them as he rode down the river at a decently fast pace. Eli’s gaze didn’t leave the beasts until they were well out of sight. “Guess you’re not eating me today…” Eli mumbled. With the excitement over, and the adrenaline subsiding, Eli began to feel exhausted. “I think… I’ll… rest for a minute.” He lowered himself forward and lied down, falling asleep within seconds. 

Eli later woke up at the river’s end. He was at a large lake at the edge of the forest. The tree had floated over to the beach and came to a stop. Eli slowly climbed off of the tree, his body aching from all of the sudden sprinting. He took a look at his surroundings. He was now at a flat, grassy plain. He looked at the edge of the forest. It was a perfectly straight line of trees that were cut off by the massive plain, almost as if the trees were avoiding something. The day was still young, only a few hours past noon. The river’s speed allowed Eli to get much farther much faster than he would have on foot. Eli took a look at his clothes. They were soaked, and torn in several places. His favorite wool cap, however, was perfectly fine. Eli breathed a sigh of relief at this notion. Seeing as to how the monsters had ceased their pursuit, and that he could see danger coming from a good distance thanks to the flat plain, he decided to set up a camp. 

He created a makeshift clothes-line to dry his clothes on. He hung them up then sat on the beach, letting his body soak in the sunlight. He fell asleep once more, but not nearly as long as the first time. An empty belly kept him awake. He went over to his bag and got out some fruit that he had packed. He had a dinner of two apples, something that his belly wasn’t entirely satisfied with, but it would have to do. After an hour had passed, Eli’s clothes had become dry enough for him to work with. He got them down from the clothes-line and laid them out to see the full extent of the damage. His coat and shirt were torn on the sleeves. Most of the tears were small, and easy to repair. His pants had several more cuts on the lower legs. They were caused by him rushing through thorns and brush to get away from the beasts that were chasing him. Eli got his bag and began searching for his needle and thread. He found it after some rummaging then got to work. He quickly repaired each hole in his clothing. Soon, he had a fully functioning outfit once again. Once that was done, he got his clothes back on, got his supplies together then set out once more. Eli’s step was slower now, because he knew that the Deadlands were his next obstacle.


	3. Parasite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli has made it past his first obstacle in his journey, but his quest is far from over. He now must cross through the Deadlands, a desolate landscape devoid of all life, but it is a place where all manner of death breeds and grows, but to stall his adventure into the den of death and war, he stops by a curious home in his path where he meets a new friend.

# Chapter 3: Parasite

Eli walked through the grassy plain that seemed to stretch for kilometers in every direction. Though, soon it didn’t seem that way. In the far south, he began to see the Deadlands. The Deadlands was a scene of a horrific war, not by Eli’s people. Someone came to the island, and they weren’t alone. Two opposing forces tried to lay claim to this land. They killed each other, without giving it a moment’s thought. The few soldiers that were left gave up. They abandoned this island and never came back. They never even told anyone about this island’s existence. 

The moment Eli’s eyes saw the gray and black mass that was the Deadlands, his heart sank, and he felt terror creep up his spine. He swallowed his fear and found the strength to press forward. Not long after that, he saw another patch of trees. He was looking for an excuse to delay his walk through the Deadlands, so he investigated. As he got closer, he noticed a path carved into the patch of woods. He took the path since it was still leading south. He got towards the center of the woods when he found a wooden fence. He followed it for a good distance, eventually finding a house. He stood at the edge of the path that led to the front door of the home and watched for a moment. Before a minute could pass, an elder woman came out of the front door. She looked surprised when she saw Eli, meaning she didn’t see him coming. Eli waved at her as a friendly gesture. The woman made her way to the end of the path to meet Eli. 

“Well, O’siyo, young man. What brings a member of Eilsar this far south?” She asked. “How do you know I’m from Eilsar?” Eli asked. He was of course confused. “You mean other than the fact that Eilsar is the only civilization on this island?” She wore a sarcastic look. “Fair point…” Eli got a little embarrassed. “Because I see you’ve got one of these.” She pointed to her shoulder. It was there that Eli saw a tiny gray Shade, latched onto her shoulder, forever feeding off of her. “Oh, you have a Shade.” Eli rose his hand up and grabbed onto his right shoulder, where that massive, pitch black Thing had been since the day Eli was born. “Yes… but, I have to ask. That massive black blob latched onto you… is that what I think it is?” “Yeah… this is in fact Shroud.” “So, you are the most powerful person on the island, then?” The woman asked. “He certainly thinks so.” Eli’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “So, you’re the Shroud Bearer then…” 

The Shades are parasites. They feed off of the energy that the people of Eilsar once commanded. It was a curse placed upon them by foreigners that also commanded this energy. There was one Eilsaran that excelled in his use of the energy. His power was far beyond all others, and so, he needed a Shade that was far hungrier than all the others. Thus, Shroud was born. Shroud is the oldest Shade of all. He was around since the curse was first placed over three thousand years ago. 

Shroud doesn’t act like the other Shades. The Shades look for an available host and latch on. They don’t discriminate in the slightest. All they want is a living target. Shroud is more particular. He only wants the strongest target. The energy that the Eilsarans once commanded still exists in them, and in every living creature, but it is stronger in some creatures and people. Shroud rushed to Eli at the moment of his birth… every Shade of every person who was present at the birth did. They abandoned their hosts in an instant and rushed to take Eli as their own. Shroud nearly killed several of them before he was able to take Eli. Ever since that day, Eli has owned the title of Shroud Bearer. “Unfortunately, I am.” Eli said. “I was there when he detached from his previous host.” The woman said. “Really?” Eli was incredibly interested in anything surrounding Shroud’s nature. “Indeed… my son was the previous host.” “Oh… I’m sorry.” When Shroud left his previous host, the severance was so severe that it killed him. He had a massive heart attack and was dead in moments. “That’s… alright, young man. You weren’t the one that killed him.” She stared at the black blob with spite and hatred in her eyes. “Yeah… his kind has caused a lot of grief.” Eli said. “Let’s not talk about grief, yes?” “You’re right… I’m Eli by the way.” Eli said as he extended his hand. “I’m Amy.” The woman said as she took his hand and shook. “It’s nice to meet you.” Eli said. “Nice to meet you as well young man.” 

They let go and changed the subject to something cheerier. “So, Eli, what brings you this far from home?” “Oh, uh… I’m on a quest.” “A quest?” “Yes. I heard about strange creatures on a continent to the south of our island. They may hold the key to freeing all of us from the Shades.” Eli could feel Shroud get angry at that notion. Over time, Eli learned how to tell what Shroud was feeling. Uneasy, angry, satisfied. Those were the three emotions that made up Shroud’s personality… well, those and hunger. Eli needed to know Shroud’s emotions at all times. If Shroud got too angry, he’d lash out and kill without thought. 

“Who told you this?” Amy asked. “Amelia.” Eli said plainly. “Ah, I see. Were that information from anyone else, I’d tell you to go home immediately.” “Yeah, I agree, but Amelia has never steered anyone wrong, so… here I am.” Eli said with a shrug. “Where’s your boat?” Amy asked. “At the southern-most part of the island.” “You’d end up going through the Deadlands on the path you’re going. I can give you a way around.” “Sorry, but Amelia told me to go straight through, and not to take any other paths.” “She told you that?” “Yes, she did, and as you know, it’s always the right decision to trust her.” Eli said. “That it is… if you think you’ll be okay, then I won’t stop you.” Amy said. “Wado… I should be going anyway. I’m losing daylight. It was nice meeting you.” Eli said as he began walking off. “Nice meeting you too. I expect to see you again with a cure in hand soon.” Amy said. 

Eli gave her a smile before turning back to the path ahead. It faded when his eyes met that dead, black land up ahead. He continued moving, trying his best not to change his mind. Shroud got more uneasy with every step Eli took, but not for the same reasons. “I’ve made up my mind.” Eli said to Shroud. Really, Eli wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Shroud or himself. “I’m tired of being your feast, and I’m tired of everyone just being livestock for your kind. It’s going to end, and you can’t stop me.” Eli said. Again, he didn’t know who he was convincing. Shroud was getting angry with Eli, but there was nothing he could do. He didn’t want to ruin his dinner. 

Within half an hour, Eli made it to the edge of the Deadlands. He looked out to the dead, blackened grass. “It’s strange.” Thought Eli. “If this happened years ago, why is the grass still here? Wouldn’t it have decomposed?” Eli looked out into the black field, and without much effort, he saw several bodies. They were everywhere, littering the field like scraps from a beast’s horrid feast. Eli tried to keep his stomach calm, as a wave of nausea hit him when he saw the bodies. “There’s so much… death here.” 

There was a gray mist covering the black land. From what he’d heard, the mist was poisonous. “Okay… poisonous mist… how do I get past it…?” Eli knew that Amelia wouldn’t have sent him here if there wasn’t a way to get through. Eli remembered his studies about the people that came here. He remembered reading about a mask they had that let them breathe in hazardous areas. “There must be one of those masks here…” He looked around, and not far from him, he saw a cluster of machines. Machines were strange on this island, not a single functioning one existing. 

“Those look like the war machines… the masks would be in there.” Eli muttered. He walked over to them. He approached a tank. What was once a big metal machine of death had now succumbed to age, and was covered in rust. This machine would never work again. “So, this is a tank?” Eli said as he inspected it. He tapped his knuckle against it. It was still sturdy, even when it was dead. “These things were built to last… I hope the mask is the same.” He hopped on top of the tank and approached the hatch. 

It was partially opened, but rusted in place. Eli tugged on it to test the strength. It barely moved, but it gave enough to tell Eli he could get it open with more attempts. Eli got both of his hands on the hatch and shifted his feet to get more leverage. He pulled with all of his strength, letting out a grunt as he pulled. The hatch popped off of its hinges suddenly. The sudden jolt caused Eli to fall off of the tank. He was more or less okay. “That hurt.” He grunted as he got stood back up. He climbed back up to the top of the tank and climbed into the hatch. There were three bodies inside, all of them rotted into skeletons. “I really wouldn’t want to be you guys.” Eli looked around the tank to find the gas mask. It didn’t take much searching, as the tank was tiny. “Why are these things so cramped? I’d hate to be one of the soldiers placed in this thing.” 

A dark green metal case got his attention. He leaned over and opened it up. Inside was a gas mask, along with spare filters. The case was air tight, so the mask was in good condition. “Alright. This should do.” Eli took the mask and the spare filters. He climbed out of the tank and stood back at the edge of the Deadlands. “Well… here goes nothing.” He slipped on the mask, making sure the seal was tight. It was hard to breathe in the mask, and Eli didn’t find it to be very comfortable. Eli had to deal with it though. He would take a heavy breath over a deadly one. “Okay… let’s go.” He walked into the Deadlands, the mist sticking to him as he walked on. 

Every move he made created shifts in the heavy fog. It swirled around him, twisting in unsettling patterns. “I hate this.” Eli said as he looked to the Deadlands. It was worse than he thought in here. Eli had never been exposed to war in his life. Few people in his village had experienced brutal conflicts on this scale. Eli was thrown in the deep end, and it was beginning to overwhelm him. His previous comment, “I hate this,” wasn’t directed at the area. He was referring to the history behind it. “All these people died, and for what? Just to go home and say, ‘Hey, I killed a bunch of people!’? What’s the point in that?” There was one path that was elevated, the path Eli was taking. There were wooden planks lied out to prevent someone from slipping and falling into the declines all around the path. 

Eli let out a sigh. “I just don’t get it. Why do people fight? Why do people have to… hate each other so much? I mean, if everyone in the world, all at the same time decided to stop fighting, and really meant it, then there’d never be fighting again right?” The only one that could hear, and understand, Eli’s comment was Shroud, and he was easily bored by Eli’s monologues on morality and cooperation, and Eli could feel it. Eli let out another sigh and said, “You don’t care, I know. Maybe… maybe I’m just being too naïve.” He looked around and saw all of the bodies. There were countless bodies here, more so than what was at the edge of the horrendous biome. “I mean… they must have had a reason to fight, right? Otherwise, they would have given up and gone home… right?” Shroud gave him no answer. “I guess… we just have to accept the fact that… we’ll never know the whole story.” He continued moving through the Deadlands. He was half-way across now. 

He continued his steady pace, the thick fog sticking to him. All was quiet, the only sound being Eli’s footsteps on the wooden path. That was the setting, until something shifted. Eli heard something, a thud, from behind him. He turned around to see one of the many bodies that littered this ancient battlefield were now sprawled out on the path. “How did…?” Eli didn’t finish; the fear had cut his question short. Eli began stepping away, keeping his gaze on what he thought was a corpse until he was well away from it. He looked back toward the path ahead. He would occasionally look back at the corpse to make sure it didn’t move again. “This isn’t right…” He mumbled to himself. 

He started to pick up the pace, quickly walking rather than his steady stroll from earlier. “Maybe it’s just this place… it’s creepy, you know?” Eli said, trying to take away the dread, but Eli could feel that Shroud was getting uneasy too. Eli heard another thud, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around, and saw another body lying across the path. “Oh God, they are moving…” Eli said as fear began to fill his heart. He turned to run, but something caught a hold of his leg. He fell over, barely saving his mask from being broken open. The bodies that were around him suddenly came to life and started climbing towards him. They reached for Eli’s mask, trying to tear it off. Before any of them could reach, Shroud reacted. He extended his many long tendrils that were hidden in his body. He swung frantically at the living corpses, knocking many of them away. 

One of the bodies were persistent, and latched onto Eli’s leg. Shroud wrapped one of his tendrils around its neck then lifted it into the air with no effort at all. Shroud then tightened his grip until the corpse’s head was severed from the body. No blood spilled from the body or the head. All of it had rotted long ago. Eli, now being free, quickly got back to his feet and began running as fast as he could. Adrenaline took over, and he was running just as fast as he did when he was running away from those beasts. More of the bodies had started animating, so Eli had no reasons to stop running, not realizing he had lost his flask of water during the scuffle earlier. Before Eli even realized it, he had left the Deadlands, and was well away from it. His body unconsciously ripped the mask from his face so he could breathe easier. He kept running without stopping, making his way into the island’s southern tundra.


	4. Tundra Rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli has emerged, miraculously still alive, on the other side of the Deadlands. He takes a moment to rest and slowly trek through the island's southern tundra, admiring this new and unique scenery he's found himself in. However, the snow is not the only new thing he will discover. He meets another curious person, who is drastically different than all the others on his island, and through their conversation, Eli will learn of a new and wonderous thing that's been right at his fingertips for his whole life.

# Chapter 4: Tundra Rabbit

There was a reason the island was once called, “The Backwards Place.” The island, in so many ways, defied logic. The suddenly animated bodies being one of the many indications. But, as to why the island was called “The Backwards Place,” is something different entirely, but equally strange. The island’s climate is very odd. Rather than getting warmer in the south and colder at the north, it was the other way around, which made the southern tip of the island freezing cold. Also, the fact that a tundra, a dead land, a grassy plain, and a warm forest exist in such close proximity to one another is very perplexing. Many believe the strange nature of the island to be the result of the powers that the island’s ancestors possessed. 

Eli was now at the edge of the tundra. Small flurries of snow littered the grass, the green turning into white after just a few steps. Eli had fallen to his hands and knees due to his exhaustion. He had run a kilometer out of pure adrenaline and fear. He was tired, but he wanted to press on, even though the reanimated bodies had given up their chase long ago. Eli huffed and puffed as he struggled to regain his breath. It took him ten minutes to finally get back the energy to walk again. As soon as he was able, he began his trek through the island once more. He was close to the end, and he wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Eli checked his surroundings, making sure there was nothing that posed a threat to him. “Looks like… we got away.” Eli said, though he wasn’t entirely sure that was the case. He panned around the area, making a few full circles before he finally felt safe. He let out a sigh of relief before moving on. 

The sound of his footsteps changed once he got into the deeper snow. Eli stopped to inspect it. He had never seen snow before. He had only seen pictures in his books. He picked up a handful and held it loosely. He tilted his hand and let the snow fall. “It’s like… sand?” He squeezed the last bit of snow in his hand, tightly packing it together. It took on a different texture, which confused Eli. “Snow is so… weird.” He said with a smile. He dropped the last bit of snow, rubbing the water on his shirt. He moved on into the tundra, but stopped again immediately when he noticed he could see his breath. He breathed out, letting a puff of mist out. He watched it disappear, then let out another long breath. He chuckled and said, “I’m like a dragon, huh Shroud?” Shroud was already bored. Eli sighed and rolled his eyes before moving on. 

Before long, Eli came to a stream that cut through the snow. Eli hadn’t stopped to take a drink for a while, so he bent down to the stream. The water looked crystal clear and perfectly drinkable. He reached for his flask, finally realizing that he had lost it. “Crap… I lost my flask. I can’t just reach in and drink with my hands… I’ll get frost bite.” Suddenly, a hand came from behind him, holding a metal flask. “Here, you can use mine.” Said a feminine voice. “Oh, thanks miss.” Eli said as he took the flask. He turned around to see his new friend, but what he saw was… not what he was expecting. 

There, standing above him, was a strange creature. It looked to be an odd mixture between a human and a brown furred rabbit. “Hiya.” She said cheerfully. “Uh… hi?” Eli said, unsure of what to say. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “No… I’ve seen a talking bunny.” She let out a little laugh and said, “I’m guessing you’ve never seen anything like me before, huh?” “No… no I haven’t.” “Well, tell you what, I’ve got a stew cooking right now. Come to my camp and you can ask me questions while we eat.” “O-okay.” Eli said shyly. The girl extended her hand to help him up. Eli took it, and suddenly he had a vision. He had a vision of this girl sinking into the ground. Eli snapped out of it before she took notice. 

The two of them went to her camp, which wasn’t very far. It was next to a small, frozen pond that the stream emptied out into. As the rabbit said, she had a stew cooking. Eli’s stomach growled loudly as his nose caught the scent of it. “You haven’t eaten in a while.” The rabbit said. “Well, I ate two apples, but I probably burned all of that up after I had to run for my life.” Eli said, half as a joke. “You were in that war zone then?” “Yeah, we call it the Deadlands.” “We?” “I come from a village at the center of the island.” Eli explained. “I’ve never gone past the war zone. I’ve also never needed to. I have plenty of fish to keep my belly full.” She said. 

She sat down next to the fire. Eli sat across from her. A pot of stew was sitting above the fire, and based on the smell, it was ready to be served. The stew appeared to have a light brown broth. There were several vegetables floating inside. There appeared to be chopped carrots inside, but they were an odd color. They were a very light shade of orange, almost white. There were onions in it too, but they were a light shade of blue. “Hey, what are those vegetables… and how did you get them to grow in a tundra?” Eli asked. “Oh, those naturally grow here. I call them snow carrots and icy onions.” She said. There were also several chunks of meat floating inside. “What’s the meat?” “Fish from the pond. I call them tundra trout.” 

Eli smiled at her names for things. "You have names for everything, huh?" Eli asked. "Yep. I'm here alone, been that way for a while now. I have a lot of time to think." She said. "Do you have a name for yourself?" "Misha." She said. She got out two bowls and poured some of the stew into them. "Well, O'siyo, Misha." Eli said. "O'siyo?" Misha tilted her head, showing she didn't know the words meaning. "Oh, it's just a way of saying hello." Eli explained. "Oh, well, 'O'siyo,'..." Misha paused, waiting for Eli to fill in the gap. "Eli." Eli said as he took the bowl Misha had poured for him. The warmth of the bowl felt good in his cold hands. Eli shut his eyes and bowed his head as he prayed over his food. Misha politely waited for him to finish before she began eating. Once he was done, they both enjoyed some of the stew. 

Eli took a bite, and he was amazed. It tasted fantastic, and he loved it. He started eating faster, barely stopping to chew before shoveling more into his mouth. “Woah! Easy there, you’re going to choke.” Misha said. Eli finally stopped long enough to chew and swallow. “Sorry… it’s just really good!” Eli said cheerfully. “Really? I’ve never had anyone try my cooking before… you really think it’s good?” Misha suddenly became shy. “You kidding? It’s fantastic!” “Oh… thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.” Eli knew that if Misha didn’t have a layer of fur, he’d see her cheeks turning red. Eli was always amazed at how one simple compliment could make someone shift. 

They quietly ate for a little bit. After they were almost finished, Misha started asking questions. “So…” She said. “Yes?” Eli asked. “What’s that thing on your shoulder? Is that your ability?” Misha asked. “You can see him?” “Well, yeah, I’m a nen user after all. I did have to use gyo to see it though.” She obviously thought Eli knew what that meant, but she was just met with a blank stare. “You… you’re not a nen user?” Misha asked. “I don’t even know what that is.” Eli said. “Huh… well, uh… if you aren’t a nen user, then what is that thing on your shoulder?” “This is Shroud. He’s part of a species of parasites called Shades. Shroud is the most powerful out of all of them.” “Where did they come from? I’ve never seen anything like it.” “Long ago, my people possessed powers that could bend reality as they wished. Foreigners from another land showed up and placed a curse on my people. This curse gave birth to the Shades, taking away the power my people had.” “That sounds a lot like nen.” Misha said. “What’s nen?” Eli asked. Misha cleared her throat and said, “Well, nen is the life force that passes through each and every living creature. It’s possible for some to command nen, and use it to create abilities that could make them very powerful and versatile, much like your ancestors.” “So… nen and the powers my people had must be one and the same.” “It would make sense.” Misha said. 

“You mentioned ability as a specific term. What are abilities?” Eli asked. “A nen user can create their own unique ability using the nen that they have at their disposal. Every nen user has an ability that they’ve created.” Misha said. “What’s yours?” Eli asked. Misha smiled before she suddenly sunk into the ground. Eli was very confused and dropped his bowl. “Misha?” Suddenly, Eli felt something grab him from behind. He shouted in fear, but quickly realized it was Misha and calmed down. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you that badly.” Misha chuckled. “I wasn’t scared! I was… startled.” Eli said. “Sure, you were.” Misha said as she went back to her spot and sat down. “As you can see, my ability is intangibility. I can phase through solid objects. It’s lame, I know.” Misha said. “Lame!? That’s awesome!” “You really think so?” Eli knew that she must have gotten some negative criticism in the past, because she seemed very happy to hear someone praise her abilities. “Yeah! That kind of power could have gotten me out of some really sticky situations… a lot of things have tried to eat me lately.” Eli said. 

Misha chuckled and said, “Thanks… I don’t hear compliments often.” She smiled warmly at Eli. “That’s probably because you’re alone out here.” Eli said. “No, even when I was with my people, I didn’t get complimented often.” “What is your kind? And why didn’t they like you? You seem really nice.” “That was why they didn’t like me. My kind is known as the Chimera Ants.” “You don’t look like an ant.” “It’s… really weird how we work. Our queen, who definitely looked like an ant, gave birth to all of us.” “How many?” Eli asked. “A lot.” Misha answered. “So, why do you look like a rabbit while the queen looks like an ant?” Eli asked. “Well, you see, the appearance and biology of the queen’s offspring always depended on what the queen ate. If she ate a rabbit, the next offspring would look like a rabbit. If she ate a cat, then a cat they’d be.” Misha explained, but she was avoiding something, and Eli could tell. 

“But, wait… you look kind of like a human… does that mean…?” Eli didn’t want to finish, as the implication was terrifying. Misha sighed and answered with a solemn nod. “Why?” Eli asked. “I don’t know… it started with the queen demanding more nutritious food. Humans were apparently the best thing in the area. The queen’s soldiers captured countless humans.” Misha said. “So, why didn’t your people like you?” “When the queen started eating humans, there were several Chimera Ants that were born with human level intelligence, some of them retaining the memories of the humans that were eaten. There was a class system that was set up. The foot soldiers, their commanders, the squad leaders, the royal guards and the queen at the top. I was a squad leader… for a very brief moment.” “What happened?” Eli asked. “I tried to get them to stop eating humans… they didn’t want to, and they turned against me. I tried my best to convince them not to eat humans. I even used more scientific arguments, showing them books about prion diseases, but they didn’t listen. I was forced to flee.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Eli said. “It’s okay… I made it out alright… the humans didn’t though.” Misha said. “I feel so bad for them…” “I know, all of those humans being treated as cattle. It’s a shame.” “Well, that is bad, but I was talking about the chimera.” Eli said, much to Misha’s surprise. “What!? But they’re the ones eating the people!” Misha complained. “That’s not their fault.” “How!?” Misha argued. “What’s the first thing a chimera is fed once they’re born?” Eli asked. “Well… human meat.” “What’s the first thing they’re told when they’re born?” “They’re told… to serve the queen and to bring her more humans… to eat.” Misha was beginning to understand what Eli was getting at. “You see? It’s an addiction, one that they were told is normal.” 

“Please… explain.” Misha asked. “I’ve read about addictive substances in some of my village’s books. Let’s say that ever since you were a child, you were given one of these substances by your parents, and they told you it was normal. It makes you feel good the first time, so you continue taking it. Now, you’re an adult, and you’re still taking the substance. You’re out on your own now, and nobody is telling you to take the substance, but you still do, even though your health is declining. You go to a doctor, and the doctor tells you that the substance is what’s hurting you and causing so much damage. You won’t stop taking it though, because you’ve formed an addiction.” Eli explained. “I see… great, now I feel bad for the chimera.” “That’s a good thing.” “I know… I wish I could go back there and try to break through again, but… it’s too late now.” Misha said. “It’s unfortunate, but you always have to have hope.” Eli said. 

“Is hope what got you through the war zone?” Misha asked. “No… well, yes, but mostly purpose got me through.” Eli said proudly. “Purpose?” “I’m trying to get rid of this guy.” Eli said as he pointed at Shroud. “Oh?” “Yeah, the same with the rest of my people. I’m headed to another continent because I heard there’s some people there that might know how to get rid of the Shades.” “Okay… how do you know they’ll help?” “Well… that’s a fair point. All I have is my mom’s onion soup to serve as an offering.” Eli said, a little embarrassed. Misha chuckled. “Well, I don’t have anything luxurious, but you could take some of my stew with you. It’ll never spoil.” Misha said. “What?” “Oh, yeah. The tundra trout meat seems to never go bad.” “Really? That’s amazing.” Eli said. “I know. This island is crazy.” 

Eli looked over to the setting sun. "It's getting late." He said. "Yeah. You can stay at my camp for the night. I don't mind the company." Misha said. "Wado." Eli said, accepting the offer. "What does that word mean?" Misha asked. "It means, 'thank you.'" Eli explained. "I see... before we go to bed though, I want to catch some more fish. You want to come?" "Sure." They both stepped down to the frozen pond. Toward the center, there was a hole cut into the ice, and a fishing pole was resting on a stand just to the side of it. The lure was already inside, waiting for something to take a bite. Misha stepped onto the ice without the least bit of hesitance, but Eli stopped at the edge. Misha looked back and saw Eli wasn't coming. "Are you coming?" She asked. "Is it safe?" Eli asked. "Of course! Look." Misha stomped on the ice. It didn't seem affected, so Eli stepped on. His boots had enough traction to keep him stable, so he didn’t slip. He moved over to Misha’s fishing hole. “I just sit here and wait until something takes a bite.” Misha said. Eli looked into the hole. Right then, the fishing rod reacted and started to get tugged. “I’ve got a bite! Step back so I can reel it in.” Eli stepped back to give Misha space. Misha grabbed the rod and started fighting with the fish. It must have been a big one, as Misha was struggling greatly against it. She started pulling up, but the fish was pulling straight down. The force of the struggle caused the ice to crack. 

Misha heard it and looked down to see the ice breaking. It cracked open, and Misha was gone in an instant. “Misha!” Eli shouted. He went to the edge of the break and looked down into the black water. He couldn’t see her. “Shroud, save her!” Shroud obviously didn’t want to. “Look, if you don’t help her, I’ll jump in after her, and there’s a very good chance that I’ll die from the cold. Do you want that!?” Shroud hesitantly complied. 

He extended several tendrils and sunk them into the water below, feeling around for Misha. Shroud found her in seconds then lifted her out of the water and tossed her toward solid ground. Eli ran to her and helped her up. She coughed up some of the ice-cold water. She was shivering, and her body was cold to the touch. “Misha, are you alright!?” Eli asked. “F-f-fire… get the… the fire going.” She said. Eli rushed over to the campfire, removing the pot from the stand above it. He placed more kindling on it, getting it as hot as possible. Soon the flame was high and roaring, and the heat coming from it was intense. Misha came over, her body shivering. 

She looked at Eli for a second. Eli didn’t understand why she was staring. She sighed with a smile and said, “I have to get these wet clothes off.” “O-oh! Um, okay.” Eli said. He turned around to give her some privacy. Misha quickly got her clothes off then covered herself with a blanket. “You can turn around now.” Eli turned back around to face her. She smiled at him. “Thank you. You saved my life.” Misha said. “Yeah. I wasn’t going to just let you freeze to death.” Eli said. “Thank you.” Misha repeated. “Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do?” Eli was eager to help her. “Well… two bodies are warmer than one.” “You… you want me to…” Eli got very timid. Misha rolled her eyes. “I’m not some perv! Just share the blanket with me so I can warm up faster.” “Oh… okay.” He went over and climbed into the blanket with Misha. “Thank you.” She said. “Of course.” Eli said. 

Before long, Misha got warmed up enough to go to bed by herself. Eli stayed as well, half because Misha offered, and half because he wanted to be completely sure she was okay. The next morning, Misha and Eli woke up to say their goodbyes. “Thanks for giving me some of your stew to take.” Eli said as he tucked away the thermos Misha gave him. “It’s the least I could do. You did save my life after all.” Misha said. “Still, wado.” Eli said. “Good luck on your journey.” “Yeah… maybe you could come visit some time. Something tells me I’ll be staying there for a while.” “Where are you going?” Eli brought out his map and showed the continent marked with red. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ve never seen these places before.” Misha said. “Okay. Thanks for everything.” Eli said happily. 

Misha leaned in close to Eli. “Thanks…” She said as she kissed Eli on the cheek, his face going red instantly. “For everything.” She finished. Eli stood still for a moment, taken by surprise by Misha’s gesture. Misha giggled and said, “Go on! Those parasites aren’t going to kill themselves!” “Oh, uh, right!” Eli said, and he wandered off. It was a short trek through the woods before he found the dock. There was a large boat moored there with an entire crew of men. Eli approached the boat and crew. He walked onto the pier and towards one man who was taking a break to smoke. “What do you want?” The man asked with a rude tone. “I, um… Amelia sent me.” Eli said shyly. The man’s body language changed in an instant. He stood up straight, as if he was addressing a commanding officer. “Sorry for my rudeness. I’m Akinari Shinjo. I’m the captain of this ship.” He said with a bow. “Oh, uh… I’m Eli.” Eli said with a less elegant bow. “Where are you headed boy? We’ll take you there immediately.” “Um, I’m going to this place.” Eli said as he brought out the map and pointed at the marked location. 

“Are you sure about that?” Shinjo asked. “Yeah, I am. Amelia told me to go there.” Eli explained. The man took another puff of his cigarette then breathed out the smoke with a sigh. “Look, there’s a war going on there.” Shinjo said. “Between who?” “A race known as the Chimera Ants and the Hunter’s Association.” “Hunter’s Association?” “Right, this island is separate from the rest of the world’s affairs… you see, the Hunter’s association is a group that manages its members, the Hunters.” Shinjo brought out an ID card. “I’m a member myself.” He said. “What does the association do?” Eli asked. “Honestly? I’m not sure. The Hunters are more or less independent. They take whatever contracts they want. Sometimes they’ll look to the association itself for work, but those are the people that don’t make it far in their career.” Shinjo said. 

Eli wondered about this association. He didn’t want to outright ask how strong the Hunters were, as that sounded like a stupid question. So, instead he asked, “What does it take to become a Hunter?” “There’s an initiation you have to take. It’s a test… well, a series of tests you must take to prove your strength, intelligence, endurance, and determination.” “What are the tests?” “They change often, in both location and composition.” “How hard are they?” “Death is a normal occurrence in these tests.” Shinjo said. Eli went uneasy after hearing that. “Of course, that’s just the first part.” Shinjo said. “What’s the second?” Eli asked. “All Hunters, true Hunters, have to learn how to use nen.” “Oh, I’ve met a Chimera Ant that could use nen.” “There’s a Chimera Ant on this island?” Shinjo asked with a look of worry. “Don’t worry, she’s peaceful. She tried to get her kind to stop eating humans, but… they tried to kill her in the end.” Eli said. “I see… then we won’t bother her. So, are you ready to head out?” Shinjo asked. “Oh, uh, yes sir!” “Then climb aboard. We’ll set out in just a few minutes.” Eli nodded before walking up the ramp and onto the boat. In just a few minutes, they set out to a place Eli had never seen before. His mind raced at the possibilities.


	5. Gorteau

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli has finally made it to the country that holds the key to his people's freedom: Gorteau. As a celebration, and on the advice of another, he will go into town and rest and eat just before he goes and meets the Chimera Ants. In his respite, he meets an intense child that journeys with a mysterious and fearsome group.

# Chapter 5: Gorteau

After a full day and night on the ocean, the new continent came into view. Eli raced to the front end of the boat to see the view. The mass of land in front of him was bigger than he could have imagined. He marveled at it. “Look at that… I never thought I’d see anything like it!” Eli said. This, to him, was greater than Eli’s wildest dreams. He was so excited he almost felt the urge to jump off of the boat and swim there. “You’re probably the only person I’ve seen get excited over Gorteau.” Shinjo said. “Gorteau?” Eli asked. “It’s the name of this place.” “Oh, well, why wouldn’t I be excited? This is something totally new, and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for me!” “You’re not worried about the Chimera Ants?” “I’m pretty sure they are who I’m meeting.” “I see… well, if you have any more questions, now is the time to ask.” 

“Okay… how many Chimera Ants are there?” “I’m not well informed on this, as I’m not on the team that’s trying to take them out. I do know that the king and his three elites are staying at the Supreme Leader’s palace.” “King? I thought their leader was the queen?” Eli said. “The queen died after giving birth to the King. The elites follow his rule without question. The other Chimera Ants spread out across the world, trying to make their own kingdoms. Some of them came crawling to the King and his elites for protection.” Shinjo explained. “Okay… are the King and his elites nen users?” “Yes.” Shinjo answered. Nen was a new and strange concept to Eli. It was still something he felt he needed to know about. Not only was he going towards a band of monsters that had full control over it, but he now knew that Shroud fed off of it, so nen had to be the key to eliminating Shroud. “What can you tell me about nen?” Eli asked. “Why do you want to know?” Shinjo asked. “You see this creature on my shoulder?” Eli asked as he gripped onto his shoulder. Shinjo looked for a moment, but saw nothing. “No?” Eli remembered something that Misha mentioned. “The chimera I met could see it… she mentioned using something called gyo.” Shinjo strained his eyes, and that’s when he saw it. 

“I see it now… what is it?” Shinjo asked, slightly disgusted. “It’s a parasite. Its kind has infected all of the people of my village. It feeds off of nen, and prevents us from ever becoming nen users. I feel like I need to know more about nen in order to know more about these parasites.” Eli said. “I see… well, I’ll give you the basics. First, what do you already know about nen?” “Well… it’s an energy that’s in all living things, and some people can wield it and use it to create strange abilities that can make them really powerful.” “That’s a very basic description of it, but I’ll go into more detail. There are six types of nen users.” “Types? What do you mean?” “The six types are emitters, enhancers, transmuters, manipulators, summoners, and specialists.” Shinjo explained. 

Eli took in that information for a moment and tried to process it. “So… what does each type mean? How does it affect nen use?” Eli asked. “The different types of users will dictate how the nen gets used.” “What’s the difference in each type?” “Emitters will expel their nen as projectiles. Enhancers use nen to strengthen their bodies and recover from injuries quicker. Transmuters are able to change the properties of their nen, making it act like different substances or states of matter. Manipulators can manipulate objects or people, like a puppet master. Summoners can summon objects or entities to help in a fight. Specialists are an odd case though.” Shinjo said. “How come?” Eli asked. “Specialist abilities don’t specifically fall under any of the other categories.” 

“How do you know what type you are?” Eli asked. “Well, there are a few tests you can do, water divination being the most accurate, but types can also be linked to personalities. Enhancers are normally care free, and specialists are very independent.” At this point, the ship had pulled in at the dock and the crew jumped off to tie it up. “Okay… anything I should know about the city?” Eli asked. “It’s pretty busy. Just avoid the guards, don’t let yourself get caught somewhere alone and you’ll be fine.” “Why should I avoid the guards?” “They’re being controlled by one of the elites’ abilities.” “Okay… anything you could help me with?” Eli asked. “I’ll have a man drive you to the town closest to the palace. Before you go, I have something for you.” Shinjo dug a strange device that looked like a beetle out of his pocket and handed it to Eli. “What’s this?” Eli asked as he inspected it. Eli flipped it over and noticed it had a screen. “It’s a phone. You can use it to call other phones, but that’s not why I’m giving it to you. It can translate languages for you, It’s very useful for a foreigner such as yourself.” Shinjo said. “That’s really cool! Thanks!” 

Shinjo wasn’t done helping though. He dug out some of the currency for the area. “What’s this?” Eli asked “It’s money.” Shinjo said plainly. “Money?” Eli’s village worked in a way that was vastly different than modern cities. You worked to support the village. As long as you pulled your weight, and didn’t take more than what you needed, you were given food. “You… okay… you give people money to get things like food, water and services.” “Oh, okay.” Eli said as he tucked the bills into his pocket. “You should be good to go. The palace you’re looking for is to the east of the city. It’s surrounded by barren land on all sides, and it has a long path leading through the desert to get to it. You can’t miss it.” “Thank you. You’ve helped me a lot.” Eli said. “Don’t worry about it, but before you go to the palace, why don’t you go into the city for a bit. Get some food, relax for a while. You’ve been through a lot, kid.” “Okay… I think I will, but… how come you’ve helped me so much?” Shinjo got a more serious and rigid stance before saying, “I owed Amelia. Let’s leave it at that.” “Oh… okay. Well, I’ll see you around Mr. Shinjo.” Eli said before walking off of the boat. A man escorted Eli to a truck. Eli hopped in and rode in the front seat. No words were exchanged between Eli and the driver, as the driver didn’t seem like a friendly person, and Eli knew that he didn’t want to talk. 

The truck pulled up to the edge of a busy city. Eli stepped out, and the truck took off almost immediately. Eli shrugged off the rudeness and made his way into the city. As Shinjo said, it was full of life. There were people everywhere, going about their business. Eli was used to people avoiding him at all costs, but this time he had to push his way through the crowds, looking for any opening he could find. He pushed past all of the people and came to a clear spot. He wasn’t entirely sure on what to do, at least not until his nose caught the smell of something good. He followed his nose to a small restaurant. He meekly walked in, feeling totally lost. He walked over to a bar at the back. There was a woman there. “Well hello there, young man, what can I get you?” She asked. “What smells so good?” Eli asked. “Ah, you smell some of our ramen. Would you like some?” “Yes please.” 

It didn’t take long for her to bring out a bowl, and it took even less time for Eli to finish it. “My, my, I’ve never seen someone so eager to eat before!” She said with a laugh. “It was… really good. Sorry.” Eli said, slightly embarrassed. “Don’t worry. You can eat however you want as long as you pay.” “Oh, right, the pay.” He brought out the money. He wasn’t sure how much it was worth and how much he had to pay. “Um, well… how much do I…?” Eli wasn’t sure on what to do at all, but thankfully, someone stepped in to help. “Here, allow me.” Said a young boy with pale white hair and equally pale skin. Eli handed him the money. The boy separated the proper amount of money and gave it to the woman. “Thank you.” The woman said. The boy handed Eli back what was left. 

Eli stepped down from his chair and stood in front of the boy. “Thanks… I was getting a little confused there.” Eli said. “No problem. I could tell you’re a foreigner.” The boy said. “As much as you are.” Eli said. “How do you know I’m a foreigner?” “I don’t see anyone else with pale white hair around here.” “You’ve got me there.” “I’m Eli by the way.” Eli said as he extended his hand. “Killua.” The boy said as he took Eli’s hand. Eli then got a vision once more. He saw this boy engulfed in electricity. The boy noticed Eli’s stunned expression. “You alright?” He asked. “Yeah, just got a headache all of a sudden.” Eli said. Eli could tell Killua suspected something far stranger than that. 

Eli could feel the intensity coming from Killua. He wasn’t just some simple tourist, and Eli knew that Killua knew he wasn’t either. “If you say so.” Killua said. Eli knew that he was lucky that Killua had let go of the issue. “What brings you here?” Killua asked. “I’m meeting someone.” Eli said simply. “What for?” “You… probably wouldn’t believe me.” “I’ve seen some strange things. Try me.” Killua said with a sinister smile. “I come from a village to the distant north. My people are cursed. I heard that someone here could supposedly lift the curse.” Killua stared at him blankly for a moment. “Okay, I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that.” “You see?” “Alright, well, I have to get back with my friends. I’ll see you around.” Killua said before walking to a table at the edge of the building. There were several people there, and it looked like they were discussing something. 

There was another boy that caught Eli’s attention. There was a boy with black, spiky hair wearing a green coat. There was an intensity coming from this boy, coming off in waves. Eli knew that this boy, with all his heart, wanted someone dead. A large man wearing sun glasses pulled out his phone to look at a message. Once he read it, he mentioned something to the others. All of them then looked straight to Eli. Eli tried to ignore their gaze, but he saw them strain their eyes. He knew now that they were nen users, and that they were all using gyo. He knew that they could see Shroud. 

Almost to make Eli look even more suspicious, Shroud tripped Eli using one of his tendrils, just as he usually did. Eli quickly caught himself, but not before he scraped his chin on the way down. “You bastard…” Eli mumbled to Shroud. Eli knew that Shroud was feeling pleased with himself. Eli tried to ignore the glares that everyone was giving him. Eli was under the impression that Shroud was just teasing him, but what he didn’t know was that Shroud tripped him to make Eli’s story more believable. Killua, seeing how Shroud humiliated Eli, assumed that that must have been the curse Eli was talking about. Killua told the others Eli’s story. They had more important matters anyway, so they ignored Eli and went back to their business. 

“Sometimes I swear you’re trying to kill me.” Eli said to Shroud as he brushed the dirt off of his coat. Eli went back on his path. He went towards the edge of the city, walking to its outer perimeter. In the far distance, he saw the path leading to the palace, but not the palace itself. “Is it really that far?” Eli asked himself. “Are you talking about the palace?” Asked one of the citizens who happened to hear him. “Uh, yeah.” Eli said. “Are you heading there?” “Yes, why?” “Then you’re in for a long walk. It could take hours.” “Well, I have to go there. I’m meeting someone.” “I hope you packed a lot of water.” The man said before wandering off. 

Eli breathed in deep to gather the strength, and he then started his journey toward the palace. The journey, as the man said, took Eli several hours. It was really hot, as the sun was bearing down on Eli. He had to stop and rest several times to gather his strength back. He would rest around ten minutes each time. Before long, Eli came to a spot that Amelia had warned him about. Eli had come closer to the palace. He had been able to see it for some time now. He was a little bit over two kilometers away. It was there that he came to two dead trees. They were on opposite sides of the path, silently waiting for Eli’s final decision. “This is it then? The point of no return…” Eli said. Shroud was urging Eli to turn around, to give up. Eli was uncertain himself. He stepped forward and said, “I have to save my people.” Before he could pass, he stopped and said, “But what if I die? Who helps them then?” He turned around and took a few steps back, but he turned back and said, “My mind is made up!” He turned away again and said, “No it’s not.” 

He stopped completely and looked out at the palace in the distance. “Be courageous… be… courageous.” Eli said to himself. He took in a deep breath, then stepped beyond the trees. He began making his way to the palace. “Okay, no turning back now.” Suddenly, he felt a massive wave of dread cut through. It sent a chill down his spine. He felt like some kind of beast was standing over him, watching his every move. He felt like something wanted to kill him, like that was its sole desire in the world. Eli swallowed his fear and found the strength to press on. He was terrified, knowing that something was reading his every step, his every move. It was something vicious, something cruel, but Eli didn’t care. His mind was finally made up, and he knew what he had to do. 

Before he even knew it, he was at the front gate of the palace. The gate slowly opened as he approached. They were expecting him. He slowly made his way into the palace, not sure what to expect. There was a massive courtyard he went through first. There were several massive trees in it, lining the sides of a long path leading into the inner walls of the palace. However, as Eli got closer to the palace, he noticed something that made him question if they were normal trees. There were several large, white pods stuck to the trees closer to the palace. At first, Eli just thought they were some kind of tree that was native to this land until he got a closer look. The pods were made out of some kind of strange material and were stuck to the trees. The pods were… disturbingly human sized. Eli didn’t want to think about the implications, so he walked off toward the palace. 

As soon as he turned around, he was met by a large man with deep red skin. His legs weren’t anything like a human’s. They were large and bent like an animal’s, and they were covered with black fur. He looked like a minotaur. Another man appeared, flying in with wings like a butterfly. He wore finer clothes. His skin was pale, and on his forehead were two antennae that interrupted the flow of his blond hair. A third appeared, who seemingly dropped from the sky. They wore a dark blue button up shirt with reddish-brown shorts. They had pale white skin and hair, with two cat ears sticking out. They also had cat-like eyes and a tail. The skin on their face was like a human’s, but their legs were more like that of the exoskeleton of an insect, and they only had four fingers on each hand. Eli felt something particularly strange coming from this one, but he almost ignored the feeling as he began to sweat as the fear started to move throughout his body. He realized that these three… were the King’s elites.


	6. A Humble Request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has finally come for Eli to face his duty. The time has come for Eli to overcome his greatest challenge. He has come face-to-face with the Chimera Ants, a terrifying race of beasts that hold power beyond understanding. Eli must ask for their help in freeing his people, though he knows it may be foolish, as such creatures only view humans as food. Luckily for him, the chimera want something from him as well.

# Chapter 6: A Humble Request

Eli instinctively bowed, though he knew it was a terrible one that wasn’t elegant in the slightest. His whole body was shaking, and it was quite obvious. The red one looked at Eli with a smile; no doubt he was thinking of all the ways he could hurt someone as small as him. The butterfly looked at him with disgust. It was obvious that he thought of humans as lesser beings, as something that should be crushed under his boots. The cat looked at Eli with curiosity, like… a cat. They had a finger up to their chin and their head tilted. “Why are you here?” The butterfly asked. Clearly, he wasn’t interested, and he felt that killing Eli would be much easier, but for some reason he held back. 

“I… I… m-my name is Eli, sirs and miss, and… I c-come from a distant island to the north seeking… seeking… I wish to speak to your king, please.” Eli said, his whole body shaking like there was an earthquake that only he could feel. “He’s bold.” The red one said. “Though he sounds and looks like he’s going to fall over and die of fright.” The butterfly said, mocking Eli. Eli rose from his bow and looked to the three. “Why should we let you see the King?” The cat asked. They seemed amused by Eli’s quivering. “Well, I don’t have much to offer, but I brought this.” Eli said as he dug through his bag. He pulled out the thermos that had his mother’s onion soup. 

Eli knew how ridiculous it was, but still he felt like he needed to offer something. As he brought it out to offer it, Shroud knocked it out of his hand. It fell to the ground with a metallic clang. He went to reach for it, but the cat stepped on it, stopping it from rolling. They then picked it up and inspected it. “What’s this?” They asked. “It’s an onion soup my mother made… nobody has ever made one better than hers.” Eli said with a nervous laugh. The cat opened up the top. They planned on pouring it out to torment him, but the smell caught them off guard. They pulled it in closer and got a better smell of it. They found it to be quite pleasant. The cat didn’t want to show it, but they were interested in this soup. They simply put the cap back on and held on to the thermos. 

“You got anything else?” The red one said as he grabbed Eli’s bag. He opened it, turned it over and dumped out everything. “Hey!” Eli objected, but a sinister glare from the butterfly pacified him. The second thermos with Misha’s fish stew fell out. The red one grabbed it and picked it up. “More soup?” He asked. “No… it’s a fish stew made from tundra trout, a fish that only lives on my island, same with the vegetables that are also in the stew.” Eli said. Shroud didn’t mind watching Eli get tormented, in fact he enjoyed it as long as he knew Eli’s life wasn’t threatened. 

The butterfly began speaking. “Why is a human like you demanding audience with the King?” He asked. “Oh no! I’m not demanding… I’m simply asking on the behalf of my people.” Eli said timidly. “Listen, human, you aren’t worth to even see the King from afar. You are a worthless little speck on the King’s planet, and you will—” “Hey, this is actually pretty good.” The red one said after tasting the stew, interrupting the butterfly. “Youpi! Do not compliment the human!” The butterfly said. “Oh… sorry.” He said. 

He turned away, trying to hide the fact that he was still eating it. The butterfly let out a sigh and said, “Where was I?” “You were calling me worthless.” Eli said. “Right… I’ll get to the point. We are going to kill you then feed you to the King. That is the only way you’re meeting him.” He said with a wicked smile. Eli was afraid, so he had to think quickly. “Okay, humor me for a moment… give me one last chance to prove myself?” He begged. The cat chuckled and said, “Fine, but we’ll make your death slower if you fail.” They smiled wickedly at him, fully expecting his failure. “Use gyo, and look at my shoulder.” Eli said as he pointed toward Shroud. They humored him and did it. They were surprised by the black mass sitting on Eli’s shoulder. 

The cat approached him and tried to poke the creature. Shroud responded by whipping at them with a tendril. The cat was surprised by the creature’s speed. It was almost too quick for them to see. “Interesting…” The cat said, another smile forming on their face. Eli could feel their wicked curiosity, but still, he had to say, “That was his version of a warning shot, by the way. If he really wanted to kill you, he would have.” “I doubt that.” The cat said. “Do you really want to test that?” Eli asked as he looked at them, dead in the eyes. The cat looked back and felt an intensity that they never expected a human to have. They unconsciously took a step back. “What is that creature?” The butterfly asked. He was now genuinely intrigued, even if he didn’t want to show it. “I’ll explain everything to your king… please, let me meet him.” Eli begged. The three elites looked to one another. From the looks of it, the other two were leaving the decision to the butterfly. He let out a sigh and said, “Very well.” He began moving toward the palace. Eli began following behind him, the other two elites getting behind Eli. 

They moved into the palace, the shelter instantly getting cooler than the outside desert. Eli let out a long, relieved breath at the cool air. He was expecting the elites to ask, but they didn’t seem to care in the slightest. “Why did you come here?” Eli asked. The three elites were dead quiet. “Not ones for conversation, huh?” Again, he was met with silence. “I get it… you’re only tolerating my presence, right?” Once more, he was given only a deafening silence. He let out a sigh as he gave up on trying to get something out of them. As they walked deeper into the palace, they passed by several Chimera Ants. 

They were all different from one another. They passed one that looked like a humanoid cheetah, another that looked like a giant, blue crawfish. There was another that looked like a humanoid tiger. They all eyed Eli with a morbid curiosity. Eli tried not to pay any attention to them. “So, uh… why didn’t you guys kill me before I got into the palace?” Eli asked. “Neferpitou was interested in you.” The butterfly said. “Is that the king?” Eli asked. “No, that’s me.” The cat said. “Oh… I’ll call you Nef.” Eli said. “I prefer Pitou, and you are not allowed to call me that.” Pitou said. “Okay, whatever you say, Nef.” Eli said. Pitou stopped for a moment, dumbfounded by the sudden confidence that Eli had gained. They shrugged it off and kept following. 

It was then that they made the final climb up to the throne room. The King was waiting for them. He was a curious-looking creature. He looked mostly humanoid, but his body was covered with green exoskeleton. The King glared at Eli with his purple eyes. “Who is this?” The King asked. The three elites took a knee and bowed. “Your Highness. This human wished to speak with you… he has something we believe you’ll be interested in.” The butterfly said. “Pouf, are you trying to decide my interests?” The King asked. Eli was confused at the King’s sudden shift. It’s almost as if he was looking for something to be angry about. “No Sire! This boy possessed something—” Pitou tried to speak up, but the king held up his hand, stopping them. “This is between me and Pouf.” The King said. “Now, hold on a second. Don’t get pissy with your own soldiers. They seem to love and respect you to no end, so get mad at me if you’re going to get mad at someone.” Eli said as he approached the King, losing all of the fear he felt earlier. Youpi looked up at the boy, confused at the fact that a human was attempting to defend his two associates. “Who are you?” The King asked. “I’m Eli. I come from a village called Eilsar. It lies on a forgotten island to the north. I’ve come here to make a deal with you.” Eli said. 

Eli himself was getting angry with the King. He didn’t like people who were quick to anger, so he didn’t very much like this King. “Why would I make a deal with a human?” The King asked. “Look at my shoulder using gyo.” Eli said. The King humored him and looked. He saw Shroud and became interested. “What is that creature?” He asked. Eli approached him and sat down. “This is a long story, so I thought I’d get comfortable.” Eli said. “Don’t waste his time.” Pouf said. The King held up his hand to silence the elites. “This story is important?” The King asked. “You need to hear it to understand the weight on my shoulder.” Eli said. “Very well. You may proceed.” The King said. 

Eli cleared his throat and began, “As I said before, I come from a forgotten island to the north. My people have lived there for thousands of years, and for thousands of years, these parasites, known as the Shades, have plagued us. We are infected with one at birth, and we live with them for the rest of our lives. It wasn’t always like this though. Three thousand years ago, my people were gifted with great power. Every last one of our ancestors had abilities that could warp the very fabric of reality. They were gifted with extremely powerful nen. They lived in peace on their island, shaping the land using their powers and coming up with new techniques and abilities that would rival gods.” Eli said. He paused to let his throat rest for a moment. He saw that the King was fully interested in this story. 

“One day, one nen user, one that was extremely gifted, even by my people’s standards, got greedy. He set his sights on the rest of the world. He wished to become a tyrant, one that would hold everything and everyone in his iron grip. Nen users from outside the island learned of this development and arrived to stop it. They combined their nen to create a curse on my people. They created the Shades, parasites that feed off of nen.” Eli said. “So, that is what rests on your shoulder?” The King asked. “Not quite.” “Explain.” The King demanded. “You see, the nen user that wished to take over the world was too powerful for normal Shades. They died the moment they touched him. Instead, the foreign nen users sacrificed their own lives to create Shroud, the most powerful Shade of all. Normal Shades die the moment their host dies, but Shroud is different. He can move from host to host freely. He only feeds off of the strongest nen he can find… I am his latest host.” 

The King didn’t like the implication. If Shroud only fed off of the strongest, then this boy was claiming he was stronger than him. “Are you saying you are stronger than me, boy?” The King asked. “That’s not for me to decide. That’s up to Shroud.” The King stood tall above Eli and looked down at that black thing on his shoulder. The King squinted his eyes, spite coming off of him in waves. The King then released his nen in a massive burst, casting a bright, almost blinding light, illuminating the entire room. The three elites were astounded at his show of strength, and smiled in awe. Pitou thought for sure that Shroud would be deterred, but what they saw horrified them. The disgusting thing’s crimson eyes never shifted in the slightest. 

It continued feeding off of Eli, just as it always had. The King took that as an insult and began straining, making his light even brighter, and his nen even stronger. But, still, the disgusting parasite ignored the King, just as a human would ignore a tiny insect. The King strained himself too much, and nearly passed out. He stopped the flow of nen, and nearly fell over. He hunched over and caught his breath as he stared on at that black blob. It had rejected him completely. “You see now?” Eli asked the King. He then turned around to look at the elites, who couldn’t believe what just happened. “Do you all see?” 

Eli looked back to the King, who was not happy in the slightest. He was visibly angry, his teeth bared. It was then that Eli became aware of the King’s tail. It was long and cylindrical, with something that looked like the needle from a syringe at the end of it. “So… what did you come here to ask?” The King asked as he sat back down in an attempt to calm himself. “I want to free my people from the curse. I want to find a way to remove the Shades.” Eli said. “What would I expect in return?” “You will have the loyalty of my people. They’d follow you without question.” That alone seemed to interest the King for a moment, but then he asked, “What else?” “This thing sitting on my shoulder has three thousand years’ worth of nen inside of its belly. I’m sure you could find some use for that.” The King did have a use for that, and it excited him. 

The King smiled and said, “Very well. I accept your offer.” The King extended his hand. Before Eli took it, he looked up at the King, then back to the elites. He thought about their diet. He knew they ate humans, and he wanted to stop that. “I have two conditions.” The King got visibly uncomfortable at that. “What?” He asked. “Condition one: until you remove Shroud and the rest of the Shades from their hosts, you and your people are to stop eating humans.” Eli said. The elites didn’t like it. “That’s absurd!” Pouf said. The irony appeared to be lost on him. The King held up his hand before any more objections could be made. “The second condition?” The King asked. “You and your people will not harm any humans in unprovoked attacks.” Eli said. The King let out a sigh, obviously hesitant. “Mr. King, I don’t mean to be rude, but if you want Shroud and my people, you have no choice but to accept, because if you say no, I will leave and never return.” Eli said. He knew that he had to be tough now, he had to be confident and stalwart in his goal. 

The King looked to him. He admired Eli’s tenacity, his determination. “Very well. I accept your terms.” The King said as he extended his hand once more. “Sire, you can’t seriously be accepting those terms!” Pouf objected. “Are you questioning me, Pouf?” The King asked. Pouf went quiet and bowed his head. “No, your Highness.” He said quietly. “Good… Pouf, you will spread the word to everyone.” The King said. “I’ll kill this boy myself, so we don’t have to make any compromises!” Pouf said, and he charged toward Eli with a blinding speed with the full intention of killing him. Before Eli even knew that Pouf had moved, Shroud reacted, whipping at Pouf with one of his tendrils, slicing his arm clean off. Pouf stopped dead in his tracks, purple blood spilling out, staining the floor. 

Pouf’s arm was lying lifeless on the ground. Pouf went limp and fell to the ground as well. Neferpitou rushed over to him. They shouted, “Dr. Blythe!” A strange creature manifested from Pitou’s tail. It looked like some kind of nurse made out of cloth and stitching. It lacked legs, its body collapsing into Pitou’s tail at the bottom. The belly of the creature opened up, revealing several surgical tools. Eli didn’t pay attention to any of it though. He was on his knees, turned away from the scene. He held his head tightly in his hands. “No… dear God, no. Not again…” He mumbled to himself, having flashbacks to old memories. “Pouf… you will be punished after Pitou finishes mending your arm. For now, I will discuss my deal with the boy—” “Wait…” Eli said, snapping out of his shock and interrupting the King. “I believe… Pouf’s arm being sliced off is punishment enough… besides, now that he knows Shroud’s power, he won’t try it again… right, Pouf?” Eli asked as he looked to Pouf. Pouf was humiliated by the fact that he was being helped by a human. “Right…” Pouf said, all though hesitantly. 

The King was satisfied with this. “Very well. Eli, I would prefer for you to remain here until our business is concluded. You will remain in a room in one of the outer towers. Youpi, take Eli to the eastern tower.” The King said. “Yes sir.” Youpi said as he rose from his bow. He came over to Eli. “Let’s go.” He said. Eli followed him out of the room, taking one last look at Pouf before leaving. Youpi guided Eli through the halls. The other Chimera Ants were looking on at Eli with much more curiosity than before. Youpi showed Eli up to the top of one of the watch towers. There was a room at the very top, but it didn’t seem like it was meant to be lived in. It was just meant for a soldier to stay in to go through their nightly duties. There was a bed and a desk, the only furniture in the room. 

The eastern side of the room had a doorway leading to an outer balcony. There was no door, so it was more of a permanent passage. Eli didn’t mind the draft. “This it?” Eli asked. “Yes… I’ll retrieve your stuff that I… scattered in the courtyard.” Youpi said. Before he left, Eli said, “Don’t apologize for it.” Youpi thought he was being sarcastic, so he said, “I’m sorry.” without meaning it in the slightest. “I meant that literally. I don’t want you apologizing for it. I’ll get my stuff myself.” “Why don’t you want me to apologize?” “I don’t want you to pretend to be nice to me just because I have a deal with your king. I want to earn your kindness and respect.” Youpi was confused and had no idea what to say, so he just left as he shook his head. 

Eli dropped his bag by the bed then went outside. He went to the courtyard where all of his stuff was. He gathered it all, brushing off the dirt. He then went back to his room at the watchtower. He brought out his journal and set it onto the desk. Luckily, there were a few pencils for him to use, along with a sharpener. Eli then proceeded to detail the latest events, explaining everything that happened. He didn’t stop there, though. He then started sketching some of the places and people he saw. He made rough sketches of Misha, the boat that took him to this continent, and he started sketching the three elites. The sun began to set before he got very far in his sketches, so he stopped then went to bed. It was very nice for a soldier’s bed Eli thought.


	7. Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By some miracle, Eli had actually managed to strike a deal with the king of the Chimera Ants. Until their end of the bargain can be held up, Eli shall remain in the palace with the Chimera Ants. On his first day living amongst them, Eli decides to take a stroll through the palace grounds. He learns much about his new hosts, and in doing so, he fears for the future of those around him.

# Chapter 7: Duty

Eli woke up as the sunlight hit his eyes. The passage to the balcony was facing the horizon where the sun rises. Eli sat up in bed and stretched, letting out a satisfied groan. He rested very well last night, better than he expected to after the violence of yesterday. Eli stood up and walked outside to get some air and see the view. What he didn’t expect was Pitou standing to the side of the passage, looking out into the distance. He jumped, and let out a slight yelp, as they startled him. Pitou looked at him sideways, almost seeming insulted by Eli’s presence. “Oh… it’s you.” Eli said. They said nothing, simply staring back out into the distance. “What are you doing up here?” Eli asked. “Watching for intruders.” They said plainly. “Oh, um… okay. How did you get in here without me waking up?” Eli asked. “I jumped up to the tower.” “You jumped?” Eli asked, making sure he heard them right. “Yes.” They didn’t like repeating themselves. 

“Did you not… sleep?” Eli asked. “No. Protecting the King is more important. I only sleep twice a week for three hours.” Pitou said. “And how exactly have you not died of exhaustion?” “I’m not as fragile as a human.” Pitou glared at Eli sideways. They were in no way going to pretend to be nice to Eli. “I… I see…” Eli said. “I will admit, I’m surprised you were able to sleep inside my en.” “En? What’s that?” “It’s a technique nen users have. I send out my nen in a wide range, and if anyone steps inside of it, I become aware of them and know their exact location, though some nen users know how to mask themselves.” Pitou explained. “Okay, but how would that affect my sleep?” Eli asked. “Most people feel the emotion of the nen user that’s using en. Typically, humans that are in my nen feel like they are going to die a horrific death.” “Oh, so what I felt yesterday was your en.” 

Pitou was surprised by this. “So, you did feel my en?” Pitou asked. “Yeah… why do you ask?” “Why did you press on, even though you felt such horrific anxiety?” “I had a mission to accomplish. My people need me, and I need your king to fulfill my duty, so… I had no time for fear.” “Oh. Meow I get it.” Pitou said, which caught Eli off guard. “What?” Eli asked. “What?” Pitou asked, not sure why Eli was confused. “What did you just say?” “Meow I get it?” Pitou said, not sure why Eli was asking. “You… you realize you just made a cat pun… and you’re a cat, right?” Eli asked. “I don’t understand. That’s just how I talk.” Pitou said. “You… I… never mind.” Eli wasn’t sure what to say. 

Pitou said nothing, but they started moving to the other side of the balcony. Eli followed them just to keep them in his sight. “I’m going to the central palace.” Pitou said. “Okay, see you later Nef.” Eli said. “Pitou.” “Okay, Nef.” Eli said, trying not to laugh. Pitou grunted then crouched down. They got their hands flat on the ground and bent their knees away from their body. Their legs suddenly started swelling up, becoming much larger than they were before. Pitou then leapt high into the air, rocketing to the center of the palace, and grabbing onto the pole sticking out of the top. They took their perch there, and continued watching the outside. “Wow… that is one strange lady.” Eli said. 

Eli decided to get out of his room. He slipped on his shoes then walked down to the ground floor. He started wandering around the palace, seeing what the place was like. It was massive, and what few people there were living in this place had plenty of space. He remembered how Amelia told him that the chimera had taken over this place from someone else. The person who originally owned this place must have been incredibly vane. “Wow… guy who built this place had an ego on him.” Eli said. He continued walking through the palace, admiring some of the finer craftsmanship of the architecture. He had never seen a building so big. It was totally new to him. He liked this place, though the people? That was more complicated. He wanted to like the Chimera Ants, but he simply felt… endangered around them. 

As that thought crossed his mind, Eli came to the stairs leading up to the next floor, where the throne room was. It was there that Youpi was sitting. Eli went over and sat on the stairs, a fair distance from Youpi. “Good morning Youpi.” Eli said once he was settled. Youpi just grunted in reply. “Is that not your name? I just assumed it was because Pouf and Mr. King called you that.” Eli said. “It’s short for Menthuthuyoupi. That’s my full name.” Youpi said. “I see… I’m sorry about Pouf’s arm, by the way.” “Why are you apologizing?” “Because… Pouf got his arm cut off because of me?” “He attacked you, against the King’s wishes as well.” “Well, yeah, but… I’m still sorry. He’s just… a little arrogant is all, and he’s just a little too eager to please the King.” “Well, I guess you don’t really have to worry about it. The King didn’t punish him, and Pitou reattached his arm.” “Really? Nef healed it that quickly?” Eli asked in amazement. “Yeah. Pitou’s Dr. Blythe ability is really powerful.” “Wow… you guys are so impressive it’s scary.” 

Youpi smiled at Eli’s compliment, revealing that his mouth was much bigger than what it appeared to be. He was literally grinning from ear to ear. Eli decided to change the subject before Youpi’s smile became too frightening. “What are those trees in the courtyard?” Eli asked. “Humans we’ve captured. They’re going to be transformed into Chimeras.” Youpi said. “Oh… I see.” It made Eli uneasy hearing that. “Does that violate your deal with the King?” Youpi asked. “No. You captured them before the deal, and you aren’t eating them, so nothing is being violated.” “Okay, good.” “So… how are you today?” Eli asked. Youpi looked to him with confusion. “What?” He asked. “How are you?” Eli repeated. “Why are you asking me that?” “I’m just trying to make pleasant conversation.” “Hm… as long as the King is alive and healthy, then I’m happy.” “Okay, I guess that’s… an answer.” “It’s the only one you’re getting.” Youpi grunted. “I’m glad you’re not pretending to be nice.” “This is me being nice.” “I see…” 

It was then that Eli started hearing music coming from the throne room. “Is that music?” Eli asked. “That’s Pouf. He plays the violin to entertain the King while he plays his games.” Youpi said. “Games?” Eli asked. “The King challenges humans that claim to be the greatest at their respective game. The King makes them play until they lose, and then gets rid of them.” “Gets rid of them?” “He kills them. They’re no longer useful or a challenge, so the King has no need for them.” “Isn’t that kind of petty?” Youpi got visibly angry at Eli’s insult. “I meant no offense! All I’m saying is that the King is getting rid of an opportunity.” Eli reasoned. “What do you mean?” “Well, that person that he played with was a master at their game. The King wins one time then kills them. Shouldn’t the King at least see if they could improve themselves and see if they can become better than they ever were?” Youpi got a blank look on his face. “Look… that stuff is beyond me. You’ll have to ask the King about that. Just don’t insult him.” Eli looked up the stairs to the throne room. “Do you mind if I go up and watch?” Eli asked. “Just don’t interrupt him.” 

Eli went up to the throne room, hearing the violin at its full volume now. The song that Pouf was playing was one that wasn’t entirely pleasant. He was playing it very well, hitting every note flawlessly. However, the song he was playing was foreboding. It was one of death and destruction. Eli didn’t like it very much. He walked to the opposite side of the room from Pouf. Pouf stopped playing for a brief moment and looked to Eli with spite and rage in his glare. “I, uh… I’m sorry about yesterday Pouf.” Eli said. Pouf ignored him and went back to his song. Eli looked over to the King. He was playing with an elder man, one that looked to be perhaps eighty years old, maybe more. 

Eli didn’t know the game that they were playing. The board was arranged in a diamond shape, with several small squares on it. There were small metal disks that were just the right size to perfectly fit in each square. “I assume you understand what happens if he loses?” The King said to Eli. “Youpi told me the terms.” Eli said. “If he loses, we’ll keep him alive until our business is concluded. I won’t break our deal.” The elder man didn’t seem to much care. Perhaps he thought he wasn’t long for the world anyway? It bothered Eli that the King planned on killing him anyway, but he couldn’t say anything because the King was still technically following the guidelines of the deal. “I… I see.” 

Eli watched the King play this game, trying his best to figure what the rules were. He hadn’t a clue what was going on, and before he knew it, the game was over, and the King had won. “I have won.” The King said. The elder man looked upset. He was furious, though Eli wasn’t entirely sure if it was because the old man was being sentenced to death, or if it was because of the loss itself. Perhaps the old man was incredibly competitive, and he didn’t like losing? The old man didn’t say a word, even as he was escorted out of the room. “Well… I think I’ll leave you to your own devices.” Eli said to the King. The King said nothing in return. Eli left the room and continued exploring the palace. 

As Eli walked, he got to thinking about the situation. The Chimera Ants obviously thought of humans as cattle, nothing more than that. The King only thought humans to be useful if they could be used as food, converted into a soldier, or give him a brief challenge. He thought about the three elites. Youpi seemed aloof, really. As long as the King thought Eli or any other human was useful, so did Youpi. Pitou only tolerated Eli’s presence because they were interested in his determination, his will power. Pouf thought that all humans should just drop dead where they stand, but there was something else. He wanted the King to be ruthless, unforgiving, a force of pure destruction, and it didn’t take much thinking for Eli to realize that. Eli feared that if the King made a decision that Pouf didn’t agree with, he’d stop at nothing to change his mind. Eli knew that he’d definitely try something irrational. Eli hadn’t even met any of the other Chimera Ants, so he hadn’t a clue what their thoughts were, but he knew that it would be similar to the elites. 

Eli thought about how the Chimera Ants were being so ruthless, so cruel. He thought about how it would affect the world, but then he realized… he was being selfish. His whole plan was to simply get rid of Shroud then return home and enjoy his new found freedom. He wasn’t thinking about the impact he was going to have on everything around him. He knew that the King was gaining something from this deal, but what was it? “Why would he so willingly accept? What’s he gaining?” Eli thought to himself. He pondered for a moment. It didn’t take long for him to come to a conclusion. “He must have some way of taking Shroud’s power. If he does, he’d become a god… he’d be unstoppable.” That thought horrified him. “He’d enslave the world…” Eli thought. His mind raced, he had to do something, he had to stop this, but he didn’t want to hurt the Chimera Ants. Eli thought they were something new and unique to the world, and he wanted, with everything he had, for them to cooperate with humanity and build a future where everyone could live in peace. That was his mission now. He felt he had a responsibility to change the hearts and minds of the chimera. It was his duty to fulfill. “But how?” Eli thought. 

He started thinking of the possibilities. He knew that Youpi was mostly thoughtless. He seemed like he mostly just went with what the other two elites and the King thought or planned. “If I change the minds of the others, he’ll follow without a problem.” Eli thought. “However, the other two are another story. Pouf would kill me the second he got the chance, but Nef seems… vaguely interested in me. Maybe I could use her curiosity?” He thought about what he had to do, and it didn’t seem very promising. He was an optimistic boy from the middle of nowhere. How would he convince monsters to give up their cruelty? “This… isn’t going to be easy.” Eli said as he finished his thoughts. “What won’t be easy?” Asked a voice from behind. Eli turned to see the cheetah-like Chimera Ant. “Getting rid of this thing.” Eli said, pointing at Shroud. “It looks… really gross. What is that?” He asked. “It’s a parasite that’s been feeding off of me since the day I was born. It feeds off of nen, and the King has agreed to help remove it.” “I was wondering why they were keeping another human alive.” “Another?” Eli asked. “Yeah, they’re keeping some Senator guy alive. It’s because he’s keeping everything stable so other countries don’t end up invading or something like that.” 

“Where is he?” Eli asked. “He stays in his office, and he has some kind of room below the palace. I’ve seen him take some women down there. I think it’s pretty obvious what they’re doing down there.” The chimera said with a fiendish smile. “Uh… yeah. My name’s Eli, by the way.” Eli stuck out his hand for a hand shake. The chimera simply looked at Eli without moving and said, “I’m Cheetu.” Eli put down his hand and said, “Wait, you’re a cheetah, and your name is Cheetu?” “What’s wrong with that?” Cheetu asked. “Nothing, I guess. Are you as fast as a cheetah?” Eli was met with a cocky smile. Cheetu, in an instant, rushed to the end of the hall and vanished. He suddenly came back from the other side of the hall in less than a second. “How fast is that!?” Cheetu said with a cocky grin. “Wow! That was awesome!” “Of course!” 

He had a big ego, Eli could tell. “Did you… by chance eat humans?” Eli asked. Cheetu’s smile vanished, and he said, “What’s wrong with that?” Eli couldn’t believe what he just heard. “A multitude of things!” “Says you.” “Well, no matter what you think, you won’t be eating human flesh while I’m around.” Cheetu laughed and said, “Oh yeah? Are you gonna stop me?” “No, but the King and the elites will.” “What? What are you talking about?” Cheetu started to get worried. “Oh yeah, that was part of the deal. Until this parasite and all the parasites infecting my people are removed, the King and the other Chimera Ants, including you, aren’t to eat human flesh.” Cheetu got a horrified look on his face before running away. He was probably checking to see if Eli was lying. “Not so cocky now…” Eli said with his own smile.


	8. Withdrawals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks have passed since Eli has began staying at the palace of Gorteau, and due to his deal with the King, the Chimera Ants have been unable to consume human flesh, and it is beginning to wear on their patience. In the meantime, Eli has formed a new quest he aims to accomplish: he wishes for the Chimera Ants to give up their cruelty. Eli sees the Chimera Ants' increasing hunger as an opportunity. He also takes this as an opportunity to talk to a chimera that particularly piqued his interest.

# Chapter 8: Withdrawals

It’s been a couple of weeks since Eli struck a deal with the King. Eli had met a few more Chimera Ants during his days at the palace. None of them were happy with Eli because of his deal. They were becoming irritable, and easily angered ever since they had to quit eating human flesh. One chimera named Hirin had an altercation with Eli. She had an ability that made her something called a nen exorcist. A nen exorcist’s specialty is removing nen curses. Eli was optimistic and thought that maybe this could work, but before she could get anywhere near Eli, Shroud went into a rage, hitting her and knocking her away. Eli must have apologized at least a hundred times that day. Hirin, of course, wanted to kill Eli, but she wouldn’t be able to, not with Shroud around. Now anytime Hirin is in the room with Eli, Shroud becomes angry. The others saw it fit that Hirin and Eli remained separated. 

The next morning, Eli woke up to the sun once more. He walked out to the balcony, and once more, Pitou was outside. Pitou had always been standing on the balcony outside of Eli’s room. Eli was just now realizing exactly why. “You’re here again.” Eli said. “I’m watching for intruders.” Pitou said. “No, you’re not.” Pitou looked over to him, confused. “What are you talking about?” They were trying to play dumb. “Humans aren’t as moronic as you think. I know the King asked you to spy on me.” Pitou wanted to hide their surprise, but didn’t do it well. Eli saw a slight twitch in their eye. He knew that he had figured them out. He tried to hide a smile of pride so he didn’t insult Pitou. Pitou stepped to the other side of the balcony once more. They jumped back to the center of the palace and took their perch. “One of these days, I will get a normal conversation out of her.” Eli said with a smile. 

Eli left his room and went out into the palace to see what was going on. He was walking down the hall when he happened to pass by Cheetu. He was sitting against the wall, his arms crossed. Eli thought he could see him shivering for a brief moment. Cheetu looked like he hadn’t slept in a couple of days, and he looked terrible. “Cheetu… are you… are you okay?” Eli asked, a little afraid of the answer. “Y-yeah, I’m fine… everything’s fine!” He said, his eye getting twitchy. “You don’t seem fine…” Cheetu suddenly stood up and grabbed Eli. “Of course, I’m not fine! I’ve hardly eaten in two weeks!” “What? Why?” Eli asked. “Everything tastes horrible! Nothing is as good as human.” Cheetu was beginning to eye Eli hungrily. “I take it you’re not the only one to feel this way?” Eli asked. “No, all of the chimeras are getting really hungry, and they don’t want to eat anything else! I think I even saw the three elites get a little jittery.” “Really?” “Yeah… this is terrible! We can’t get rid of you and that parasite soon enough!” Cheetu said. He was shaking Eli around violently. “Calm down!” Eli objected. Cheetu stopped shaking him, but still kept a grip on his shoulders. 

Eli looked at Cheetu and saw how desperate he was… Eli saw this as an opportunity. “Follow me to the kitchen.” Eli said. Cheetu and Eli made their way to the kitchen. It was huge, and it was stocked with several high-end appliances. However, it didn’t appear that the kitchen had been used in quite some time, other than Eli grabbing some of the canned foods to eat. “Has this place not been used? I haven’t seen anyone come through here.” Eli said. “Not since we took over. We don’t cook the flesh that we eat… mostly.” Cheetu said. “Raw human meat… appetizing.” Eli made his way over to the freezer. It was a large walk-in freezer. Eli opened it up and was immediately met with a foul odor. The freezer had broken, and all of the food spoiled. Eli quickly shut the freezer before he got sick. 

"That won't do." Eli said. "Won't do for what?" Cheetu asked. "For cooking. All of the food has spoiled." "You know how to cook?" "You don't?" Eli asked in surprise. Cooking was as natural as breathing for Eli. "Well... no." Cheetu said. "Really?" "No! I don't!" "Hm... everyone in my village knows how to cook. It's part of everyday life." Eli explained. "Well... I never learned." "Tell you what, if you clean up the kitchen, brush off the dust and what not, I'll go out and get some supplies and I'll cook for you guys." "Didn't you come from a tribal society? How do you know how to use kitchen appliances?" Cheetu questioned. "You think I've been sitting around doing nothing for the past couple of weeks? I saw all this stuff and decided to figure out how to use them! I'm pretty sure I've got it handled, so I'll cook you all something so good you'll never want to eat humans again!" Eli boasted. "I doubt that, but... I welcome the challenge." Cheetu said. "Alright then. Get to cleaning. I'll look through one of these recipe books and see what I need." Eli said as he grabbed one of the cook books. 

He walked out into the courtyard and read in the sunlight. There were quite a few recipes, and it appeared that many of them came from different cultures. However, Eli was looking for something he believed he would be better at preparing. Eli often helped his father prepare the meat for the family meals, so he knew how to season and cook it to make it taste its best. As he searched, Youpi came over to him, and it looked like he had been looking for Eli. “You there, boy.” Youpi said. Eli could easily tell that he was irritated. “Youpi? What do you need?” Eli asked with a great deal of courtesy. “That stew of yours… do you have any more?” Youpi almost seemed ashamed to ask. “No, you ate it all.” “Could you make more?” “Well, technically yes, but it won’t be the exact recipe. The one you ate was made with ingredients from my island. I could scrounge up similar ingredients though. It won’t taste the same, however.” Eli said. “Well… I suppose that’s better than nothing.” Youpi said as he wandered off. 

Eli found a recipe that he believed would suffice. He planned on cooking pork steaks, but he wanted it to be something more exotic than a regular pig. Eli wanted to use wild boar. Now, the next question was where to find one. Of course, Eli could have just bought the meat, but he was letting his pride control him. He wasn’t familiar with the area at all, but he knew that the Chimera Ants had been here a while, so he decided to ask them. One Chimera Ant happened to be passing by. His name was Welfin, a Chimera Ant that looked like a humanoid wolf. “Hey, Welfin!” Eli called. Welfin turned and looked at him. “Oh god, it’s you.” He said. “Yeah, it is me, but you’ll be happy to hear what I have to say.” “What?” “I’m cooking for you guys, but I need ingredients. You wouldn’t happen to know if there’s any wild boar in the area? I want to use it for pork steaks and a few other things.” Welfin raised a brow as he actually became interested. “Hm… there’s a forest to the south. You might find some there.” “Alright, thanks man. I’ll see you at dinner.” Eli said. Welfin walked off and left Eli to do whatever. 

Eli knew that the King wanted eyes on him at all times, so he thought it would be best to let the King know before he went out. Eli went up to the throne room. Pouf was playing his violin… attempting to play the violin. He was off key, and his hand kept slipping several times, making his usually proud and perfectly played music turn into a cacophony of broken notes. Pouf looked over to Eli as he walked in. Eli didn’t say a word to Pouf, as he knew that he was playing terribly because he hadn’t been eating his… preferred dish. 

Eli walked over to the King. He was in the middle of a game with another challenger; however, this one was strange. They were playing a game that Eli didn’t know. It was like chess, but it had round pieces with labels on them. Eli couldn’t read the pieces from where he was standing. He didn’t want to get closer and interrupt them. The rules also seemed to be totally different than chess, but that’s not what perplexed Eli. What did was that the woman the King was playing with appeared to be totally blind. Eli went to the side of the table and looked at the woman’s eyes. They were a pale gray color, confirming Eli’s suspicion. It appeared the woman was playing entirely by memory, as her and the King were dictating their moves as they played. They’d say what piece they were moving and the specific square they were moving it to. Eli knew that this must have needed total concentration, so instead of talking to the King right then and there, he decided to take a seat and wait for the game to end. Surprisingly, the game ended within minutes; more surprisingly, the woman won, completely. Eli hadn’t seen this woman ever before, so he assumed that both her and the game were new to the King, making him a novice. Though, Eli hadn’t been in the King’s throne room for a few days. 

The King silently stared at the woman for a moment, but then turned to Eli and said, “Eli.” “Hello, Mr. King.” Eli said. “What do you want?” The King asked. He appeared to be eager to start a new match with the woman. “I’m heading out into the forest to do some hunting and fishing.” “You need supplies, then?” “Well, I just wanted to let you know, but… now that you mention it, I do need something to catch the fish and hunt with.” “Go back down the stairs and turn right. Third door on the right is a trophy room that the human claiming to be this land’s ruler owned. You may find your supplies there.” The King said. Without waiting for a response from Eli, the King turned back to the woman and said, “Again.” Eli left them to their game and went downstairs. 

Eli found the trophy room quickly; it was right where the King said it was. Eli walked in and saw the true ego and vanity of the palace’s previous owner. There were several animals stuffed and mounted as trophies. There were massive creatures that Eli had never seen before, but he’d read about them. There was a massive bear at the entrance of the room, meeting anyone that walked in. It was stood up and mounted in a way that looked like it was about to attack. There was a stuffed tiger behind a chair at a desk towards the back of the room. It was set up in a way that made it look like it was protecting whoever was sitting in the chair. There were several small creatures mounted all over the place as well. On the walls were several horns of creatures that were killed in this man’s hunts. There was a picture of the “hunter,” in front of his kill. Eli didn’t know much about guns, but he knew that this man was wielding the gun with an awkward and untrained stance. “He probably didn’t even kill that thing himself.” Eli mumbled. 

“You’re probably right.” Said Youpi, who was standing at the doorway. “Guy looks kind of cowardly, like everything is just handed to him.” Eli said. “Exactly. When we came here, he was watching a bunch of women in rabbit outfits dancing around like idiots.” Youpi let out a slight laugh. “I’m guessing you ate them all?” Eli said without looking at him. “No, we turned the leader into a puppet and ate the rest.” “I heard about that puppet ability. Which one of you owns it?” Eli asked. “That would be Pitou.” “Nef has two abilities?” “There’s no real limit on how many abilities someone can have as long as you’re strong enough.” “I see…” Eli said. 

Youpi went over to a display case at the side of the room. It had a shotgun inside. Youpi opened the case and picked up the gun, which looked more like a toy in the giant’s hands. Youpi handed it over to Eli. “Here, this should help.” Youpi said. Eli took the gun and inspected it for a moment. To Youpi’s surprise, Eli tossed the gun across the room. “You’re not going to use the gun?” Youpi asked. “My people don’t use guns…” Eli said. He walked over to another case with a machete inside. “My dad’s a hunter, and he told me something once, when I learned what guns were.” Eli said. He opened up the case and picked up the machete. “If you’re going to kill something…” Eli pulled the machete out of its holster, revealing the black blade, and allowing the light to create a shimmer on its sharp silver edge. “it ought to be up close and personal…” Eli said, revealing a strange side of him. Even Youpi was slightly taken back. He began to feel respect for this tiny human. Eli went over to a spot where fishing trophies were set up. He took a fishing rod that was sitting at the center of the set. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” Eli said before walking out of the room, leaving Youpi with a look of shock. 

With his equipment ready, Eli set out towards the forest, a machete strapped to his back, and a fishing rod in hand. Eli was more rigid when it came to his village’s traditions. It was a code that had to be followed. His people were very serious when it came to hunting, most citizens getting their first kills at a young age. There’s a ceremony that is conducted after an Eilsaran’s tenth birthday. They are taken out into the woods by their hunter parent. In Eli’s case, it was his father that took him. It was there that an animal was waiting. It was a boar that was caught in a snare. Eli looked back at his father, unsure of what was going on. The tradition is kept hidden from the children. They didn’t want the children to build up courage beforehand, they needed to learn to be brave in the moment, when they have to act in an instant. When Eli looked to his father, the only thing he could focus on was the knife in his hand. His father held the knife by the blade and handed it to Eli. He took it, unsure of what was going on. 

His father’s instructions were vague, a product of his personality, which was one of a man who restricted himself, and spoke little. “Son, tonight we will not eat from the food I catch. Tonight, we eat what you catch.” He said. It was vague, but Eli always understood what his father said, wholly and truly. Eli held the knife tightly in his hands and approached the creature. The helpless creature became more frantic with every step Eli took closer. It squealed and squirmed, trying to free itself from the trap, but to no avail. Eli got close to it and rose the knife into the air, pointing the blade downward. He paused for quite some time, working up the strength to do what had to be done. “We will starve tonight if you do not commit.” Eli’s father said. Eli knew what had to be done, and with those words, he was ready. 

He brought the knife down, plunging it deep into the boar’s neck. Blood spilled out, staining Eli’s hands and arms. The boar was dead within seconds, but it was forever to Eli. He backed away, staring at the blood on his hands. He began to cry, and Eli’s father came to his side. “My son, do not weep. You did what had to be done. Because of your actions, we will eat tonight. I know you have disgust in your heart, but it had to be done.” His father said. He then took a knee next to Eli. “There is something you should never forget. A rule you must follow always. You are only to kill for survival. You should never take pleasure in death. That is what separates us from animals… that is what separates us from evil.” His father said. Eli never forgot those words. They were forever in his mind, like etchings on stone. 

By the time Eli finished this old memory, he was well into the forest and found a pond that was perfect for fishing. He sat down by the pond and took a look at his surroundings. He saw a berry bush not far from him. By the looks of it, something had been eating off of the bush. He looked around the immediate area for any corpses. He didn’t find one, which indicated that whatever ate the berries was still alive, so the berries weren’t poisonous. That’s not why Eli wanted them though. He wanted to use them as bait for the hook. So, Eli grabbed some berries, and pierced them onto the hook. The hook was almost entirely obscured by the juicy, black berries. Eli casted his line then simply sat and waited. It seemed the fish really enjoyed Eli’s bait, as he caught a bite within two minutes. He struggled with the fish for a while, but was eventually able to reel it in. He had a large, silvery skinned fish the size of his forearm. He would need a few of the same fish to be enough for everyone, so he got more berries and rebaited the hook. He repeated the process until he had seven fish, all of them big enough to make the stew he was planning. “Perfect.” Eli said with a smile. 

Eli then searched through the forest for any signs of the boar. It didn’t take long to find something. Eli found tracks in the dirt. They were relatively old, but it looked like this path was used by the boar quite often. The boar must come through there regularly, so Eli looked for a spot he could use to ambush it. Eli looked around and it appeared the only spot that would suffice was a branch hanging directly above. Eli cut open the belly of one of his fish then left it on the ground. He then climbed up to the top of the tree and sat on the branch, simply waiting, just as he did with the fish. Eli took the opportunity to look around at the surrounding area. He didn’t know what else to put in the stew. There were no vegetables he could use for it. “Maybe I could just cook the fish itself?” Eli thought. 

Another thought crossed Eli’s mind. The King wanted eyes on him at all times, so there must have been one of the Chimera Ants watching him hunt. He smirked a little and thought about what they’d see. “I’d better give them a show.” He thought to himself. Clearly, his personality alone wasn’t going to break through to any of the Chimera Ants. He had to impress them in order to make them let their guard down. That would be the only way he could change their minds. Luckily, the opportunity was arising. The boar began approaching the fish, sniffing it curiously. Without hesitation, the boar took the bait and began eating. It was a monstrous thing. Its size was equal to Eli’s, its weight even greater. Eli slowly stood up on the branch, not even shaking it in the slightest. Eli then brought out the machete slowly, making sure to not alert the boar. He pointed the machete toward the ground and simply stepped off of the branch. He landed on the ground, using the momentum to bring the machete down on the boar’s neck, piercing through it all the way. As Eli thought, someone was watching him. 

Pouf, full name: Shaiapouf, had three abilities. His first ability allowed him to read the emotional state of others. Because of this, it was impossible to lie to Pouf. His second ability allowed him to hypnotize people and creatures using scales from his wings. The third ability allowed him to split off tiny pieces of himself in order to make a sort of “clone” of himself. Pouf can see, hear, and feel everything the clones do. Pouf can split up his body into as many clones as he wanted as long as there was still material to use. There are two limiting factors. Pouf’s clones got smaller every time they split into more clones, and if they got too small, it would become impossible for them to see. The second limiter is Pouf’s main body. His main body was unable to get any smaller than a bee, and he needed at least one seventh of his clones in order to form his normal body. 

One of Pouf’s clones had been watching Eli since the moment he left the palace. His findings were perplexing, shocking even. Pouf’s main body back at the palace wore a shocked expression. The King and the two other elites took notice to the expression. Eli took a knee next to the lifeless boar. He slowly pulled the machete out of its neck, almost as if he was trying to make it painless, like it was still alive. “Thank you.” Eli said to the boar. A tradition his people followed. If you were from Eilsar, you must always be thankful for your food. It should be made clear what exactly the religion of Eli’s people is. They are monotheistic, and their god does not have a specific name, so they simply dub them, “God.” They see God as a deity of the hunt. The rules of their religion were not very strict. You simply had to do your part for others, be kind, never be quick to aggression, thank him for the food and the opportunity to hunt, and respect the animals and nature around you. 

With the hunt finished, Eli returned to the palace, much quicker than he thought he would. He was thankful that the land was sparing with its animals. Eli got back on the path leading to the palace. He walked around, making sure the chimera could see him coming. The view that the lesser chimera saw actually chilled them for a moment. Eli walked toward the palace, six fish tied to one shoulder, and a still bleeding boar hung over the other. The boar looked to be larger than the boy, but Eli didn’t seem burdened at all. The boy’s strength did not match his body, and the chimera like Welfin found it unsettling. “I think they might be scared of us.” Eli said to Shroud. Even Shroud was amused by this statement. The three elites had different reactions to Eli’s sudden shift. Youpi almost felt proud of it. He liked seeing that this tiny creature had a darker side. Neferpitou’s previous curiosity was now even stronger. Pouf was worried. He started to feel like this boy was a legitimate threat. 

Eli walked into the palace and went toward the kitchen. He passed by several Chimera Ants on the way, all of them becoming confused by this event. This small, frail boy was carrying the corpse of a heavy boar, not even bothered by the blood soaking the back of his clothes. At the entrance of the kitchen was Cheetu. It appeared he was going to greet Eli with his usual, cocky “I’m better than you,” remarks, but seeing the dead boar hung over his shoulder stopped him. “Oh… hey, Eli… I just finished cleaning the kitchen.” Cheetu said, taken back by this strange contradiction he was looking at. “Good. Do you mind hanging up this boar? The wound on its neck should be good enough to drain the blood.” Eli said. 

Just the way Eli was talking about this bothered Cheetu. “I… no, I don’t mind.” “Good. Take the fish too. Make sure you get a bucket to catch the blood, I need it for something. I’m gonna change before I start cooking.” Eli handed Cheetu the boar and the fish. Eli pulled the machete off of his back and inspected it one more time. “I’m keeping this.” Eli said as he walked off cheerfully, leaving Cheetu dumbfounded. “You’re dripping blood on the floor.” Eli called when he noticed Cheetu hadn’t left yet. This brought Cheetu back to his senses, at least enough to move into the kitchen and hang up the boar. 

Eli went to his room and took off his bloodied clothes. He changed into another outfit then headed back down to the kitchen. Cheetu was there waiting for him, still just as dumbfounded. “You get the boar hung up?” Eli asked. “Yeah. I’ve got a bucket collecting the blood.” Cheetu said. “Good. Everything should be ready just before sun-down.” “That long?” “I’m not just cooking for you and me. I’m cooking for everyone! Plus, I need to give the boar a chance to bleed out.” “Okay, if you say so…” Cheetu mumbled. “Go and spread the word. I’ll get everything ready.” “Okay… oh, and it turns out that senator guy had some vegetables. I figured you could use them.” Cheetu said as he opened up a cabinet, revealing a pantry fully stocked with vegetables. “Nice. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to follow the exact recipes. You’re a life saver man.” “Oh, uh… of course I am!” Cheetu said, regaining his cocky attitude. Cheetu then left to spread the word about dinner. 

Eli spent the rest of the day preparing everything. He gutted the fish and cleaned the meat. He then chopped it up and dumped the meat into the stew. He then went to the vegetables and cut them up as well. He dumped all of it into the stew and left it to cook. By the time he was done with all of it, the boar had finished bleeding. It was big enough for everyone to get a piece, as long as nobody got too excited. Eli had gotten everything prepped ahead of time, so all he needed to do was prepare the boar itself. He decided that he’d use the boar in different ways. He’d use its meat to make several dishes for the Chimera Ants to enjoy. He got the boar cut up into all of the parts he needed then began cooking them in their respective styles. The blood and intestines would be used for something that he felt the chimera would really enjoy. He was going to make blood sausages. Given the chimeras’ ravenous appetites, he knew he’d need something bloody. 

He was preparing the blood sausages when the familiar red giant came in. Youpi just stood to the side, watching Eli, trying to figure him out. Complexities such as personalities and hidden characteristics were not Youpi’s strong suit. Eli silently prepared the food, going back to the cook book when he felt he had forgotten something. Eli finally had enough of Youpi’s staring and said, “Questions can’t be answered if you don’t ask them, and questions can’t be asked if you just stand there silently.” “You do have a killer in you.” Youpi said. Eli felt a little insulted by this. 

“I have a hunter in me, not a killer. There is a massive difference.” Eli said. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” “A hunter kills to survive. A killer, kills for fun. I was taught by my father that you should only kill when absolutely necessary, and if it does come to that, make it as quick and painless as possible.” “Where’s the fun in that?” Eli definitely felt insulted this time. He turned to Youpi and glared at him. Youpi couldn’t understand the look on his face, only that it was something akin to anger, but much worse. Eli kept this glare for a while, until a pot of water he had boiling started to boil over, causing the water to hit the hot eye, causing it to burn away with a hiss. Eli turned toward the pot and removed it from the eye. He dumped in some potatoes he had chopped up then put them back on the eye. 

Eli looked back to Youpi, his glare not as intense as before. “You should never take pleasure in death Youpi. Because if you do, then when the day comes that you die, nobody will mourn your death… instead, they will take pleasure in it.” Youpi, ever so slightly, shifted with these words. He wasn’t entirely sure on what to say to this boy, what to even think of this boy anymore. He simply walked away silently. Eli turned back to his work, just as silently. Just as Eli was finishing up, Cheetu came back in. “Is it ready?” He asked. “You’re eager, huh?” Eli asked. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.” He didn’t want to admit that he was excited to taste the food. “And here I thought you didn’t think anything tasted better than human meat.” Eli wore a sly smile. “Shut up!” Eli turned to get something out of the oven. Cheetu noticed something that Eli had set aside on a nearby plate. He took it and ate it, not realizing what it was. It was the boar’s eyes. Cheetu immediately started gagging and he dove for the sink to spit them out. “What did you do?” Eli asked. “I ate those things you had sitting on that plate over there.” Cheetu complained. 

He turned on the sink and started rinsing his mouth out. “Those were the eyes you moron! You’re not supposed to eat them. The dye in the colored part tastes awful.” “Well… that’s great to know now!” “Quit your whining. Come on, help me get this stuff to the dining hall.” With everything ready, it was time to gather. Cheetu assisted Eli in getting the food to the dining hall, which was connected to the kitchen. They set up the food on a long table so everyone could form a line and grab what they wanted. “Go get everyone and let them know it’s ready, please.” Eli said. “Alright.” Cheetu was gone in less than a second. Eli went over to the table full of food. He was impressed with himself. He bowed his head and brought his hands together in a prayer. He knew the chimera wouldn’t pray, so he would do it for them. He prayed that they would enjoy the food so much that they’d never go back to their old appetites. Eli was as hopeful as always. Right as he finished his prayer, several of the chimera walked in. Eli smiled and said, “Come and get it. Get what you want, but make sure you leave enough for everyone, alright? I don’t want any fights.” 

Everyone lined up, grabbed a plate then took a seat somewhere to eat. Once everyone had gotten their share, Eli grabbed his own plate and gotten some food as well. Eli looked around at the full dining hall. There were several Chimera Ants around, and they all appeared to be enjoying the food that was prepared. Not all of the Chimera Ants were present at the palace that night, only about nine were there, as the others were scattered around the country, dealing with humans that had been causing problems. Eli was beginning to believe his hopes would be realized. He knew he was out of place though, so he sat by himself to eat. Cheetu took notice. He came over to Eli and sat next to him. Eli could see that Cheetu had already eaten half of his food. Eli smiled at the sight. “Don’t say it…” Cheetu said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eli said with a smile. “Alright… alright, damn it, I admit your food is actually pretty good.” Eli could almost hear his pride shattering. “I’m not going to hold it over you, if that’s what you think.” 

Cheetu silently waited for Eli to continue. “You see… I know you’ve got a fragile ego, so I won’t mock you.” Cheetu was about to go into an uproar, but Eli said, “Besides. I like your personality. You’re an asshole, but I still think you’re cool.” Cheetu accepted Eli’s odd compliment with a hesitant smile. “You made all of this?” Hirin asked. Eli stood up and went over to her. “Yeah, I did… does it make up for Shroud putting you through a wall?” Eli asked shyly. “Hm… not quite, but you’re getting there.” She said. “Well, it’s a start.” Eli said. 

He went to step away, but Shroud tripped him. Eli was not prepared, and he fell flat on his face. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “You’re such an asshole, Shroud.” Eli said as he got himself up. Luckily, his nose wasn’t bleeding. A few of the more sinister Chimera Ants laughed at Eli’s expense. “Now we’re even.” Hirin said with a chuckle. “Good to know.” Eli said. He went back over to his table. He found that some of his food was gone. “Cheetu.” He said. Cheetu was trying to hide his chewing. 

Eli shook his head with a laugh as he sat back down. Right then, Youpi walked in. Everyone looked to him, not averting their gaze. Youpi took a look at everyone before moving toward the back where the food was. “Glad you could join us.” Eli said without looking at him. He was still mad about their earlier conversation. Youpi didn’t say anything in return. He simply got as much food as he could fit on his plate, along with a massive bowl of the fish stew. He sat alone and ate quietly. “Where are the other two?” Eli asked. “You mean Pouf and Pitou? Well, they’re probably watching the King.” Cheetu said. “I see…” “You okay?” Cheetu asked, seeing that Eli was contemplating something. “I’m fine. The King has your sister stalking me though.” Cheetu gave Eli a confused look. “What are you talking about?” “You know, Nef, your sister. You all came from the queen, so you’re all technically siblings.” Eli said. 

“No, I get that but… why are you calling Pitou a woman?” Cheetu asked. “What!? Isn’t Nef a girl?” “Well, the other elites and the King have always referred to them as a man, and they prefer to be called ‘lord,’ by us. What makes you think otherwise?” “Well, her hips, the voice, and…” Eli didn’t want to out-right say it, so he instead awkwardly pointed at his own chest. “You’ve been checking them out then?” Cheetu asked with a fiendish smile. “What!? No! I… I just… pay attention…” Eli’s face turned blood red. Cheetu suspected Eli of having a crush on Pitou. He didn’t think that their gender even truly mattered to Eli. “Well, honestly… I’m not even sure anymore.” Cheetu said. “I’ll ask her the next time I see her.” Eli said, much to the dismay of Cheetu. “Are you out of your mind!?” “What’s she gonna do, kill me?” Eli asked. Cheetu narrowed his gaze. “Don’t answer that. I’ll take some food to her, see if I can’t soften her for a little bit.” 

Cheetu was looking at him like he was absolutely insane, same with most of the other chimera. “Did you hit your head out there!?” Cheetu shouted. “What’s wrong with being nice to Nef?” Eli asked. “Look, it’s… you’re playing with fire, Eli… besides, there isn’t any food left.” Eli looked over to the table where all of the food was set up. All of it had been eaten, nothing left but scraps. “Damn it…” Eli said. Cheetu almost seemed relieved that Eli’s plan wasn’t going to be carried out. “Hold on…” Eli said, causing Cheetu to get worried again, even if he didn’t realize it. “Not all of it has been eaten.” Eli got up and rushed out of the dining hall, leaving Cheetu lost and confused. Eli went to the King’s throne room. 

As usual, the King was playing a game and Pouf was playing music. What surprised Eli was that the King still hadn’t beaten the woman. He was in the middle of a game, so he didn’t want to interrupt. He looked over to Pouf. “You missed dinner.” Eli said. Pouf simply ignored him. “Where’s Nef?” Eli asked. “Why should you know?” Pouf asked, giving him a glare of spite and hatred. “Because if you don’t tell me, I’ll scream and interrupt the King’s game?” Eli said. “You wouldn’t dare!” Eli took in a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth like he was about to shout. “No! No, no!” Eli let down his hands with a smirk. “Where’s Nef?” Eli asked. “He’s on top of the western watch tower.” Eli smiled and said, “Thank you.” Eli walked out and headed toward the watch tower. He heard Pouf say, “Little rodent” on his way out. 

Eli soon made it to the watch tower then climbed to the top. He went out to the balcony and looked for Pitou. He didn’t notice them until he looked up and saw them standing on the top of the tower. “Hello up there.” Eli said. Pitou already knew Eli was there, but they were trying to ignore him. “I’m not leaving until you acknowledge me.” Eli said. Again, Pitou gave him no response. A cold wind blew through the desert, sending a chill through. For a moment, Eli thought he could see the faintest twitch in Pitou’s ear. Eli smiled and said, “Do you ever think about wearing something different?” “Why?” Pitou asked. “Because, you might get cold?” Pitou realized he really wasn’t going to leave, so with a sigh, they jumped down to Eli’s level. “What do you want?” Pitou asked. 

They leaned against the balcony’s stone railing and watched the field in front of them. “How have you been? Everyone else hasn’t been doing too good ever since you were all ordered to stop eating humans.” Eli said. “I’m fine.” Pitou said without looking at him. “Are you sure? I heard that you and the other two elites were starting to get a little jittery.” Neferpitou’s grip tightened on the stone railing unconsciously, leaving marks on the stone. “I’m fine!” Pitou said through their teeth. “Are you sure? Because you’re leaving claw marks in the stone.” Pitou lifted up their hands and looked at the scratches they made. “You’re hungry, right?” Eli asked. Pitou looked away, not wanting to answer. “Where’s that soup you took from me?” Eli asked. Pitou didn’t say anything. “Where did you take it?” Eli insisted. They let out a sigh then walked into the watchtower’s room. Pitou went over to the desk and opened one of the drawers. The thermos was inside. “You may have it back.” Pitou said as they handed it to Eli. 

Eli inspected it for a moment. He opened the top and took a look at the soup. It was still in perfect condition. “Still looks good.” Eli said happily. He sat down on the floor and looked to Pitou. Pitou was confused, and had a look that said so. Eli pointed at the floor in front of him and said, “Have a seat.” Pitou just stared at him with a narrowed gaze. “Come on! What’s the harm?” Eli said. Pitou let out a sigh and sat down in front of Eli. Eli poured out some of the soup into the cap of the thermos. He handed it over to Pitou. “Here, try some. It’s really good.” He said. Pitou gave him a blank stare. 

Their curiosity didn’t outweigh their survival instincts. “How do I know you’re not trying to poison me?” They asked. “Well, let’s look at the facts. I’ve hardly known your kind, and each and every one of you are entirely unique to one another. How would I know what you’re vulnerable to and what you’re resilient against?” Eli asked. Pitou gave him no answer. Eli rolled his eyes and took a sip of the soup. He made sure to gulp it loudly so Pitou knew he had taken a drink. “Happy now?” Eli asked. Pitou took the soup and inspected it closely. They sniffed at it. They found that it still smelled just as alluring as the first time. Pitou looked over to Eli, who gave them an assuring smile. They let out a sigh then took a sip. It was fantastic, and Pitou had never tasted something quite like it. They didn’t want to show their amazement, so they turned away. 

Eli knew though, it was hard to hide it from him. He always knew a look of satisfaction when he saw it. He smiled, and asked, “How is it?” Pitou looked back over to him, attempting to keep their stone-hard expression and said, “It’s… adequate.” They were trying to hide the fact that they loved the soup. “Wow… you loved it that much?” Eli thought he could see Pitou blush. The odd thing about Chimera Ants was that their blood was purple, so when they blushed, their face also turned purple. Pitou turned away, trying not to look at Eli. “You don’t have to act like a tough guy around me, you know.” Eli said. Pitou looked back to Eli, but wasn’t sure on what to say. 

“I heard somewhere once, not sure where, that nothing makes you feel more empowered than vulnerability.” Eli said, which confused Pitou. “What?” They asked. “Ah… don’t mind me… I’m just being weird.” He looked over to Pitou. He could tell by the look in their eyes that their curiosity was running rampant in their mind. “I know one of you were spying on me during my hunt, and I know you must be curious. Go ahead and ask any questions you have.” Eli said. “I assume your people taught you to hunt.” Pitou said. “Yeah. My dad taught me. We kill our first animal at age ten. We’re taught to only kill to survive, not for enjoyment, or just because you feel like it.” “So, you do not have a sadistic side?” “I’m not as naïve as to say that I don’t. If anything, Shroud is my sadistic side.” 

Pitou looked at Shroud, watching its unnatural movements; its odd shakes, and saw it eyeing them with those blood red eyes. “When you sliced off Pouf’s arm—” “I didn’t do that… Shroud did, though I am sorry.” Eli said. “Right… when Shroud sliced off Pouf’s arm, you became horrified. Why?” Pitou asked. Eli became eerily quiet, and a feeling of dread hung in the air. Even Pitou picked up on it. “You said I could ask any question—” “I know.” Eli said in a snap. Pitou inched back, ever so slightly. “Sorry, I… I don’t like this memory.” Eli said. Pitou remained quiet, but for the briefest moment, they thought about changing their mind, stopping Eli from saying what it was that pained him so much. 

“You see… it was back when I was seven years old… you know, the age where every kid is a… complete idiot. I got into a fight with another kid. His father was the previous Shroud-Bearer. When Shroud left him for me, he died. His son was obviously angry, so he started to beat up on me. Shroud doesn’t mind if I get a little bruised or battered. Hell, he enjoys it honestly. So, watching me get beat up by a kid twice my size was prime entertainment.” Eli said. He paused for a moment. Eli wasn’t paying attention to Pitou. There was an expression on their face that wasn’t like the usual, sadistic and morbidly curious attitude. It almost looked foreign, or alien on their face. “Soon the kid grabbed a rock, about the size of my head. He held it up, ready to bash my brains out… that’s when Shroud stepped in.” Eli said, finishing his story. 

Eli finally looked up at Pitou, who went back to their usual stone-wall expression. “I wasn’t able to sleep for days after that. The blood was stuck in my mind. His arm, lying lifeless off to the side… I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I had nightmares for weeks on of Shroud going into a rage and killing everyone I knew and loved… hell, I guess in a way he did.” Eli said, which interested Pitou, but they didn’t want to show it. “Everyone hated me after that day. They just looked at me like I was some kind of monster. They didn’t see Eli, the naïve, optimistic kid that wanted everyone to get along… they saw Shroud, the disgusting parasite that could kill you at any second.” 

There was a long silence that followed. It lasted for five minutes. For those five minutes, Eli lost himself in thought, and Pitou simply watched him, trying to figure him out, but in the end, they couldn’t. The silence was broken by Pitou saying, “I’m going back to the center.” They stood up and walked outside. They jumped back to the center of the palace. Eli knew he was beginning to break through, he knew there was now a crack in that stone-wall façade. To break through completely though, he would have to find a way around Pitou’s duties to the King. “How?” He thought to himself.


	9. Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli is enjoying his time in the courtyard a few days after his last interaction with Pitou, but soon his peace is interrupted by Youpi. Youpi informs Eli of a possible way of lifting the curse from his people. Eli is suspicious of his intentions, but goes along with it to get to the bottom of things.

# Chapter 9: Honor

Eli was in the courtyard where the massive trees were, a week after his interaction with Pitou. He was drawing pictures in his journal. He was trying to draw the courtyard with all of the trees. He wasn’t great at it, but he still tried. Before long, he heard someone coming up behind him. He turned around to see them. “Youpi? What are you doing here?” Eli asked. “We think we might have come up with a method to separate Shroud.” Youpi said. “Really? You have?” “Yes. We are going to a village where a powerful nen exorcist lives.” Something about that seemed a little suspicious to Eli. He still went along with it though. “Okay… wait, we? As in you and me?” “That’s right. The King asked that I come in order to protect you.” Youpi said. “Well… where is this nen exorcist?” “A village not too far from here. We’ll ride there in a truck.” “Okay… lead the way.” 

They both went into a tunnel system underneath the palace. Eli was taken to a truck and was put in the back with Youpi. The truck was being driven by one of Pitou’s puppets; a soldier, with no life behind the eyes. “Who is this nen exorcist?” Eli asked. “Huh?” Youpi asked. “The exorcist, who are they?” Eli asked again. “O-oh. It’s a human that we’ve located.” “Oh? How did you find them?” “Oh, Neferpitou felt a strong nen presence and we did some investigating and found out there was a nen exorcist.” Eli knew that 

Neferpitou’s en range was two kilometers. “Where is this village? How long will we be travelling?” Eli asked. “Oh, uh… it should take us an hour to get there.” Eli doubted there even was a destination at all. He wasn’t sure what Youpi was trying to pull. He assumed Youpi wasn’t the master mind behind whatever was going on. “No offense to him, but he’s not smart enough for that. It has to be one of the others.” Eli thought. “What’s the exorcist’s name?” Eli asked. “Huh? Oh, uh… Hinata.” Youpi said. “Hinata?” Eli replied slowly. “Yeah. That’s what I heard their name was.” Eli could tell that he was getting nervous. He was a terrible actor, and he was an even worse liar. Especially with the fact that he always said, “oh,” when he was lying. “How exactly did Nef find this exorcist?” “Oh, with their en.” “When did you discover this village?” “Oh, about a month ago.” “A month?” Eli asked. “Y-yeah.” Youpi said, his nerves beginning to boil over. 

“When did Nef leave?” Eli asked. “What? What are you talking about?” Youpi asked. “Nef’s en only stretches for a maximum of two kilometers. That’s not far enough to find this village if it’s an hour away, so Nef would have had to have gone out to find it.” “Oh, yeah. The King sent them out to do some scouting.” “Why not send some of her puppets?” “Well… because the King wanted to keep them for soldiers, and they couldn’t detect nen as well as Pitou could anyways.” Youpi said with a nervous smile. Eli stared Youpi down for a moment, and he could see small beads of sweat forming. Youpi had barely managed to stumble himself into a useful alibi, so Eli felt like he couldn’t outright accuse him of anything yet. Eli silently opened up his journal and began writing. 

“What’s that?” Youpi asked. “My journal.” Eli said. “Journal?” Youpi asked. “Yeah… wait, you don’t know what a journal is?” “No, I don’t.” Eli thought that Youpi must have been using this as a way to avoid the previous subject. “Well, it’s a blank book that you use to write down your thoughts and events of the day and what not.” “What are you writing now?” “I’m trying to finish a drawing from memory.” “A drawing? Of what?” “The courtyard with those trees in it.” Eli said. He showed Youpi the drawing. He had drawn the courtyard itself, and he had drawn most of the trees. “Hm…” Youpi said. He seemed interested in Eli’s drawings. 

“Have you drawn anything else?” Youpi asked. “A few things. I tried to draw you and the other two elites.” Eli said. He flipped through his journal until he got to the page with Youpi and the other two elites on it. Eli drew the three elites from memory, but there were still several details in it that made it an exceptional work for an amateur. Though, he did have to reset a few times, as Shroud would knock his hand while he was drawing. “Hm… I like it.” Youpi said. “Yeah? You think it’s good?” Eli asked. “I guess. I don’t know much about art, but… I can tell it’s us.” “Um… thanks?” Eli wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. “Uh, you should sit down. There’s a bumpy road coming.” Youpi said. “Okay.” Eli said as he sat back down. There were no buckles, as they were sitting in a back cabin that just had benches on the sides. 

Before too much longer after that, Shroud started getting agitated. “Hey, chill out! What’s gotten into you?” Eli asked. Youpi got a look of worry on his face. “Don’t worry, Youpi, he won’t do anything while we’re in a moving car.” Before Youpi could say anything, the cabin of the truck suddenly tipped over violently. It had been hit by something. Though, what really caught Eli off guard was Youpi’s reaction. He immediately dove toward Eli and covered him, using his body to shield the boy. The cabin went tumbling for quite a while before it finally came to a stop. Youpi, being the behemoth that he was, was unharmed. Eli wasn’t as lucky though. His leg got hurt, possibly broken. 

“Son of a bitch!” Eli shouted. The pain he felt was terrible. It was definitely broken. “You alright kid?” Youpi asked. He was being unusually courteous. “No! I think my leg is broken.” “Alright. Stay here. I’ll see what attacked us.” “I don’t have much of a choice.” Eli said. Youpi broke open the back of the cabin and came out. Eli started hearing gun shots and the sound of Youpi laughing. He was in a fight, and having fun too. After a few moments, the gunshots ceased and all went quiet. Youpi went back to the cabin and grabbed Eli. Lifting the small boy up was no issue for him. Youpi placed him outside and leaned him against a tree. “You alright?” Youpi asked, though Eli felt he was asking just because he had to. “More or less.” Eli said. “Can it be more?” “Why? What’s wrong?” “If we got attacked, then there’s a chance they’re going after the nen exorcist.” Eli had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He wanted to play along so he could get to the bottom of this. “I should be fine until then. Nef can heal me later, right?” Eli asked. “Of course.” “Alright, but you’ll have to carry me there.” “Alright.” Youpi grunted. 

He grabbed Eli and lifted him up. Eli got a look at the scene. There were several corpses all around. Youpi was merciless in his attack, as the corpses had been torn apart. They were all wearing uniforms, but not like the ones that Pitou’s puppets wore. “Who were those guys?” Eli asked, going along with whatever ruse this was. “A resistance that’s trying to take over the country. They saw the truck and thought we were the previous dictator’s military.” Youpi said. “I see…” Eli inspected the surrounding area, as best he could from the position he was in. He saw plenty of bullet casings littering the ground, but he didn’t see any signs of any bullets. 

Eli was silent while they traveled. They were staying within the forest for cover. Eli tried to figure out just what it was Youpi and the others were up to. “What are they doing, and what are they gaining from this?” He thought to himself. “Uh, Youpi.” Eli said suddenly. “What is it?” Youpi asked. “Tell me, how did you not get shot during all of that?” “Oh, I can manipulate my body. See.” He then caused an extra pair of arms to sprout out of his back. “That’s… something, alright.” No more words were exchanged. They silently approached the village where this “exorcist,” was living. There were several of the “resistance fighters,” around the village. They were all patrolling around the perimeter and burning down buildings inside the village. “That’s not good.” Youpi said. Eli just blankly stared on. Eli could see something that the elites thought he couldn’t. Nen, normally, can only be seen by nen users. There are a few exceptions, here and there. However, Neferpitou’s puppets are held up by a strange entity, attaching itself to the puppets using strings. Eli, though faintly, could see the strings. Eli, even though he is not technically a nen user, can see nen through Shroud. Eli let out a sigh then removed himself from Youpi’s grip. 

“What are you doing?” Youpi asked. Eli grabbed a nearby stick to use as a crutch then moved out into the open. “Eli, wait!” Youpi called, but it was too late. Eli had already gotten out into the open, and the puppets were aiming their weapons at him. Eli knew that the weapons weren’t really loaded, at least not with real bullets. He approached the soldier. They fired warning shots into the air, but it didn’t deter him. He got right in front of one of the soldiers and stared at him. He could see that this really was one of Pitou’s puppets, as they were dead behind the eyes. 

There was no life in them, whatsoever. Eli took the gun from the soldier then aimed it at Youpi and held down the trigger. Not a single bullet escaped the chamber. Every shot was a blank. Eli tossed the gun aside angrily, and stared at Youpi with fury in his eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid?” Eli asked. Youpi was dead quiet. He obviously didn’t expect Eli to catch on. “Well, based on that look, you obviously thought I was, so here’s a different question. Do you think I’m blind?” Eli asked. Youpi was still dead quiet. “I can see Nef’s strings! I can see that these are puppets!” Youpi’s face would have been red if it wasn’t already. 

Eli stared down Youpi, trying to see if he would give him an answer, or a response of any kind. Youpi just remained silent, a worried look on his face. “So, you’re not going to say anything?” Youpi just turned away. “You know, I thought that a big guy like you would have given a damn about respect; about honor, but this? This is just low! Just what the hell were you trying to accomplish here, huh? Were you trying to make me angry at the people of this place? Were you trying to get me to lift my restrictions and my conditions? Is that what all of this deceitful crap was about?” 

He could tell by the look on Youpi’s face that he was right. “So that is what this is… this is just pathetic.” Youpi was beginning to feel great shame. This tiny little human, who would normally be nothing more than food or a puppet soldier, was causing Youpi to have doubts. Eli was causing Youpi to feel ashamed of himself. “Take me back to the palace.” Youpi finally looked back to Eli, but did nothing. “Take me to the palace!” Eli shouted. Youpi went over to Eli and picked him up. He then sprouted wings on his back then began flying back to the palace. Eli was so angry, so enraged that he didn’t even bother admiring the view. 

Before long, they had made it back to the palace. Youpi let go of Eli so he could stand on his own. Cheetu walked by just then. “Whoa, Eli? What happened?” He asked. “Something incredibly petty.” Eli said as he stared down Youpi. “What?” Cheetu asked. “Take me to the King.” Eli said to Cheetu. “Are you sure about that? Shouldn’t we be looking for Neferpitou?” Cheetu asked. “Take me to the King!” “Okay! Just calm down.” Cheetu put Eli’s arm over his shoulders and helped him walk. It was slow going, but they made their way to the King’s throne. He was there, playing with that same woman again. Pouf was there too, as always. Pouf must have had one of his clones watching the ordeal, as he had a worried look on his face. The King looked up from his game and over to Eli. He could see the look of rage on his face, but there was something more than that… a look of betrayal. “Komugi. Let’s finish this game at another time.” The King said to the woman. “Oh, okay.” She said. She stood up and grabbed her cane. She wandered out of the room, leaving the angry faces behind. 

Once the woman was gone, Eli began. “So, just what the hell were you trying, huh?” The King was quiet and still. “You too? You’re not going to say anything either?” Again, Eli was given no response. “I could have died, Mr. King!” For a moment, Eli thought he saw the King stir. “Just look at my leg! This was the best-case scenario! Just what the hell were you thinking!?” “Hold on, what’s going on here?” Cheetu asked. “I’ll tell you later.” Eli said. The King was still dead quiet. “Let me make something blatantly clear to you. The Shades aren’t just affecting me. This isn’t just my future that’s at stake here. My people, for generations, have been tormented by these creatures! This isn’t some game, this isn’t just some way for you to gain power! My people, for thousands of years, have been tortured by the Shades!” 

The King kept his stone expression. At this point, Pitou heard the commotion and came to see what happened. “These monsters! These beasts! They torment us every hour of every day of our lives! He trips me to make me fall and hit my face. He squeezes my lungs so I feel like I can’t breathe. He constricts my heart so I feel like I’m dying! This is the same torment that all of my people have been feeling for three thousand years!” The King still didn’t grant Eli a response. “You don’t want to say anything? Fine! Just remember that there’s more at stake than your petty little empire.” Pouf wasn’t happy with his words, and tried to object by saying, “Don’t you dare—” “You have done enough!” Eli shouted, with a surprising volume. Everyone went silent. There was a long pause, and an uncomfortable feeling hung in the air. “I would like for Nef to heal my leg.” Eli said to the King. “He can’t.” The King said. “What?” “He is unable to heal you because—” “Sir…” Youpi said, actually interrupting the King. “No more lies, sir… Eli is not an imbecile.” The King was quiet and still, eerily so. After a long moment, he looked over to Pitou and nodded. 

Pitou went over to Eli. “Lay down and I’ll heal you.” They said. Cheetu helped Eli over to a wall and sat him down on the ground. Cheetu left, not wanting to feel the tension anymore. Pitou summoned Dr. Blythe and got to work on Eli’s leg. “It’s just a crack. This will be over quickly.” Pitou said. Eli wasn’t sure if they were saying that to him, or to the others. Eli looked at Pitou with a saddened expression. Pitou tried not to pay attention to it. “Nef…” Eli said. “Pitou.” Pitou said. “Whose idea was it?” Eli asked. Pitou didn’t want to answer. “Please, tell me.” Eli was upset, understandably so. “It was Pouf’s idea.” “I see…” Eli said. “What you said before…” Pitou started. “about how Shroud messes with your heart and makes you feel like you’re suffocating… was it true?” “Every word.” Eli said. Pitou went eerily quiet. In their eyes, Eli could see something foreign. It was something that Eli thought he would never see in their eyes. Eli could see the faintest spark of empathy. After that, Eli could have sworn he saw Dr. Blythe work harder. 

“Why did you give up some of your puppets?” Eli asked Pitou. “I felt it was necessary to change your mind.” Pitou said. “Change my mind?” Eli asked. “What you accused Youpi of was true.” “I see… are you not worried that you’d be short on man-power with your puppets dead?” “I could always make more using Terpsichora.” “Terpsichora? Is that your ability’s name?” “Yes, it is.” Pitou said. “What if you didn’t have any more bodies to use?” Eli asked. “I’m strong by myself. Even if I reach my limit, I can use Terpsichora to push past it.” “What do you mean?” “I use Terpsichora to go into a sort of… auto pilot. It allows my body to push past its normal limits.” “It pushes your limits artificially?” Eli asked. “I guess that’s one way to put it.” “I don’t think you should do that.” Eli said. “Why?” Pitou was feeling a little insulted. 

“Well, you see, if you push past your limits artificially, then that’s the only way you’ll be able to do so, but if you trained hard and went past your limits on your own, using your own physical strength, then you wouldn’t have to worry about using Terpsichora to push past your limits, because you wouldn’t have a limit.” Eli said. Pitou hung on his words. They paused and simply looked at Eli, not sure on what to say. Pitou finally snapped out of it and checked Eli’s leg. The process was done, and Eli’s leg was completely healed. “We… we’re done.” Pitou said. They stood up and started walking out of the room. “Hey, Nef.” Pitou was irritated by the name Eli called them by, but still turned around to see what he wanted. “We just had our first real conversation.” Eli said with a smile. Pitou silently left the room. 

With his leg healed, Eli decided to return to his room. He lied down in bed and thought about the day. He thought about the pain he felt when he was betrayed by the King and the elites. He was of course disappointed in them for what they’d done, but he remembered how Youpi convinced the King to stop lying to Eli when he tried to prevent Pitou from healing him. Youpi actually stood up to protect Eli. Before Eli could chase the thought, he heard a knock on the door. It was a heavy and loud knock, meaning someone big was at the door. 

Eli opened the door and saw Youpi on the other side. “Youpi?” Eli said. “Yeah… look, I thought about what you said earlier and what you said the other day.” Youpi said. “Oh?” “Yeah. I’ve thought about it and I found that… you were right.” “You… what?” Eli said, making sure he heard him right. “You are right. I shouldn’t have tried to trick you the way that I did. It was… dishonorable, disrespectful. I’m, uh… I’m sorry.” “You… you’re apologizing to me? A human?” “I know… it’s strange, but… while you’re here I might as well give you respect. You’ve been helpful around here, cooking for everyone, enlightening us on a few things, and… you’ve earned some respect.” Youpi said. “Thanks, Youpi.” “Uh… yeah. I just thought you should know.” He left without another word. 

Eli was proud of himself. He managed to break through to one of the elites. He actually managed to change his mind. “Well… that’s one.” He thought to himself. Youpi was the easiest to change since he mostly just went with what others thought. All Eli needed to do was get him to think for himself. Now came the hard part. “I’ve made progress with Nef, but Pouf still has a firm hatred for me.” Eli thought. It was getting late, and he was tired from the events of the day, so he decided to sleep on it, and get back to his quest tomorrow.


	10. A Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neferpitou's mind had been racing since their conversation with Eli. They felt that it was time for them to get stronger, to grow as a fighter, but they had now suitable sparring partners, no challenger strong enough to face them... except for one. Their goal now pushes them to challenge the one creature, whose wickedness outweighs their own. Neferpitou lies in wait at the end of Eli's bed for him to awaken, so they can challenge their opponent.

# Chapter 10: A Challenge

Three days later, Eli awoke to see a figure standing over him. He got frightened at first, but calmed down once he realized that it was Pitou. “Nef? What are you doing?” Eli asked. Pitou was silent at first, not saying anything. They were staring at Shroud, silently watching his unnatural movements. “It never sleeps.” Pitou said, finally. “No, he doesn’t.” Eli said as he sat up. “It gets everything it needs by feeding off of you?” Pitou asked. “Yeah, he does. He doesn’t need to sleep or rest at all. The nen in my body acts as a suitable replacement for him.” Pitou sat down on the chair by Eli’s desk. 

“What methods have you tried to get rid of Shroud?” Pitou asked. “Well, I’ve tried hitting him, drowning him, starving him—” “Starving him?” “Oh, yeah. I can restrict the flow of nen in my body. I figured out how to do it when I was… eleven, I think.” “You’re able to cut off the flow of nen to Shroud?” “Well, not completely. He’s still able to get some of the nen, enough to keep him alive and strong. I can’t do it in my sleep either, so he gets as much nen as he wants while I’m out.” “Do you think you could stay awake long enough to weaken him?” “I’ve tried it once. I passed out from exhaustion before he got even a little weakened.” 

“How long can you restrict the flow?” Pitou asked. “Oh, I always do it.” Eli said, which surprised Pitou. “You mean you’re constantly redirecting the flow of nen in your body without stopping? Even when Shroud is trying to force the nen out?” “That’s right.” Eli said. Pitou was amazed by this. Pitou knew that if Eli was ever freed from Shroud’s grasp, then he’d have control over the flow of his nen well over a master’s. “I must admit… that is impressive.” “You’re giving me compliments now? At this rate, we’ll be best friends by next week.” “That’s unlikely.” Pitou said. 

“It isn’t like you to be so chatty with a human, or with me, at least. What’s up?” Eli asked. “I came here to ask you something.” “Ask away.” “You said that I should train in order to break past my limits. I can’t spar with the other elites, as they have their duties to the King. The lower ranks aren’t strong enough to fight me to begin with. That just leaves one creature…” Pitou said while staring at Shroud. “You want to fight Shroud!?” “Yes. Shroud is the only thing strong enough to be a challenge.” “Quick question: have you completely lost your mind?” “This isn’t a joke. I want to get stronger, and Shroud is the key.” Eli could feel that Shroud was amused by all of this. 

“Please.” Pitou said, catching Eli off guard completely. He looked at Pitou and saw the same foreign look on their face. Their eyes had softened, ever so slightly. “Please.” Pitou repeated. Eli let out a sigh and said, “Okay, but let’s set aside some rules first.” “Yes?” “One: we aren’t going to be doing this inside the palace. If I lose control of him, he will kill anyone he can get his hands on. Two: the moment I say the fight is over, the fight is over. Don’t get over zealous and think you can beat him. Three: it’s only going to be you and me out there. I don’t want anyone else in harm’s way.” Eli said. “I understand. I’ll meet you in the forest. I’ll let the King know what we’re doing.” “You sure he’ll let you leave?” “Pouf can use his en to watch for intruders. Besides, the King finds my en irritating.” “Well that’s rude.” For a moment, Eli thought he could see something that resembled the tiniest smile on Pitou’s face. Pitou walked outside then jumped toward the center of the palace. 

Much later, Eli was in the forest waiting for Pitou. He had found a clearing that appeared would suffice for the spar with them. “This is such a bad idea…” Eli said. Shroud disagreed. “I know you’re excited. Tell you what, if you try your best to not fatally injure Nef, I’ll give you five minutes of unrestricted nen flow.” Shroud liked this idea. Just as he finished his deal with Shroud, Pitou showed up. “There you are. I was beginning to think the King wouldn’t allow the fight.” Eli said. “I had an argument with Pouf about it. He thought it was a bad idea just as much as you did.” Pitou explained. “Wow. Me and Pouf actually agreed on something? Has hell frozen over?” Pitou didn’t smile or laugh. Eli became aware of a glass of water in Pitou’s hand. “What’s that for?” Eli asked. “I want to test something.” Pitou said. They brought the glass of water over to a tree stump and placed it on top. They then put a small leaf on the water, which blissfully floated atop it. “What’s the point of this?” Eli asked. “It’s a water divination test. It allows someone to know what type of nen user they are.” “Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that… are you wanting me to do it?” “Now that I know you can manipulate the nen in your body, I believe you could do it.” “Okay, well… how do I do it?” Eli asked. 

Pitou got on their knees and brought their hands to the sides of the glass. “You put your hands next to the glass like this, then you simply channel your nen into your hands.” Pitou explained. Their hands were engulfed by a deep red aura. The leaf that was calmly floating on top of the water suddenly disintegrated into a black dust. “What does that mean?” Eli asked. “It means I’m a specialist.” Pitou said. They lowered their hands and replaced the leaf, then said, “Now you try.” Eli came over and went onto his knees. Pitou stood up and watched. Eli brought over his hands and began to channel the nen. He was straining a bit. “Don’t strain, just let it come.” Pitou said. “Oh… okay.” 

He took a breath to steady himself. He set out his hands and allowed the nen to travel freely. The current wasn’t as strong because Shroud was interfering, but it was still enough. Eli’s hands began to glow with a pure white aura. The leaf on the surface of the water, just as it did with Pitou, disintegrated. “Ah, so you’re a—” Before Pitou could finish, something unsettling happened. The stump that the glass of water was sitting on began turning a pitch-black color. All of the leaves around the stump that had fallen began to whither, turning into black dust. Before long, a few vines, twigs and some brush were being affected, and they began wilting as well. “Eli!” Pitou shouted once they had snapped out of their shock. Eli stopped immediately and came back to reality. He hadn’t even noticed what he’d done. He looked around in surprise. “Did I… did I do this?” He asked. Pitou just stared on with widened eyes. 

They thought about what this could mean. “This boy is so incredibly powerful.” They thought. “If Shroud is able to contain and feed on this power, then he must be even stronger! If the King ate Shroud, he would become a god!” Pitou looked to Eli, a little bit of excitement beginning to form. “I have to know how strong Shroud is now!” They thought. “I know that look in your eye.” Eli said. Pitou’s look shifted a little bit to confusion. “You really want to fight Shroud now, don’t you?” Eli asked. “Yes, I do.” Eli let out a sigh then moved back. “Alright then… I’m ready when you are.” Eli said, without the slightest bit of enthusiasm. 

Pitou was more excited than Eli thought, as they immediately charged at Eli with a speed too much for him to keep up with, but not for Shroud. Shroud reacted immediately with a weak, but quick attack that knocked Pitou aside. Pitou quickly recovered and charged again. Pitou’s claws were like razor blades, capable of rending flesh with little effort. They came at Shroud once more, trying to get a hit on him, but Shroud knocked them aside once again. Pitou was not deterred, and they charged again. Shroud was beginning to get annoyed by their persistence, so he grabbed a hold of Pitou’s ankle. Shroud then slammed them onto the ground and dragged them around Eli in a circle. Shroud then tossed Pitou away. Pitou stood back up with shaky legs. A stream of purple blood poured from their nose, and they wore an angered expression. “Nef… I think now is a good time to stop.” Eli said. 

Pitou was nowhere near done, and they had one more plan of attack to try. They crouched down in a primal stance, their hands on the ground in front of them, knees bent away from their body. Their legs began to swell, almost becoming twice their original size. Pitou then leapt toward Shroud, claws sticking straight out. To avoid the attack, Shroud tripped Eli, causing him to fall over, but Pitou was still able to clip Shroud, causing a tiny cut to form. The smallest droplet of light blue, almost white, blood seeped out. It was a small cut, you’d hardly call it a wound, but to Shroud, it was a massive threat. 

Over the three thousand years of his life, Shroud had never been hit once, and the fact that he had just been hit threw him into a boiling fury. Shroud began to shriek and shout with an absolute rage. His tendrils grew three times their normal size, and he began swinging them around in a frantic pattern. Several trees and branches were broken and splintered into tiny pieces. The ground had several deep trenches cut out, flinging dirt all over the place. Shroud’s screeches could be heard all the way from the palace. 

“Cheetu! Now!” Eli shouted. Cheetu, who had been hiding and watching the spectacle since it began, rushed out and grabbed Pitou. “Let me go! This isn’t over!” Pitou shouted. “Get her out of here!” Eli shouted. “No!” Pitou objected. They tried to escape Cheetu’s grip, but he had somehow managed to hold on. “You honestly think you can take that thing!? No way!” Cheetu said. “Just go! I’ve never seen him like this before… get out of here!” Cheetu heeded Eli’s advice. He grabbed Pitou and ran away as fast as he could. 

It took half an hour for Shroud to calm down. Once he did, Eli came back to the palace. He was walking through the grounds, trying to get back to his room without being disturbed, but Pitou had been waiting for him. They came over to him, Cheetu behind them, and confronted Eli. “You had Cheetu waiting!? Do you think I’m weak?” Pitou asked. “Of course not!” Eli said. “Then how could you be so selfish as to interrupt the fight?” Eli couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He had finally reached the limit of his patience. He slapped Pitou across the face, leaving a red mark, and a stinging pain on his hand. Cheetu’s eyes went wide, and he was fully expecting Pitou to lash out and attack Eli, but what happened was something very unexpected. Pitou simply reached up to their cheek, making sure that what happened really just happened. The slight pain was there, and very real. Pitou’s eyes were wide, and they were shocked to the core. “How dare you!? You think I’m the one being selfish? Why? Because I want to keep you out of harm’s way!?” Eli said. “Why!? Why do you want me out of harm’s way? Why are you trying to keep me away from Shroud!?” “Because I’m stupid enough to care about you Goddamn it!” Eli shouted, silencing the whole area. Even Pitou was taken back by the comment. 

Eli slowly brought his hands up to Pitou’s shoulders and grabbed them. He looked Pitou dead in the eyes and said, “I don’t want to see you die.” Tears accompanied those words. Pitou looked into his eyes and saw how genuine he was. Eli really did care about them, as if he had known them for his entire life. What followed was a gesture that confused and shocked everyone around the area. Pitou slowly wrapped their arms around Eli and hugged him. “I’m sorry…” Pitou said. They had finally realized that they were the one being selfish. They realized that they were Eli’s friend, even though they didn’t feel the same way… at least, not until now. “I’m so sorry…” Pitou said. They expressed an emotion that no one thought they were capable of. Sorrow, compassion, empathy, all expressed in that one simple gesture. 

Pitou let go and looked Eli in the eyes. “It’s… it’s okay, Nef.” He said. Pitou looked down, not being able to stomach the pain they caused Eli. “Nef.” Eli said softly. They looked Eli in the eyes once more. “Shroud has taken so many lives over the years… the centuries. I don’t want him to take more, and I especially don’t want him to take yours.” “I… I understand now.” Pitou said. Eli gave them a smile and said, “I’m glad. Now, you should get back to your duties as an elite. I’m sure Pouf is losing his patience.” Eli said. “Right… I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Pitou then jumped back to the top of the palace and took their preferred perch. 

Eli looked over to Cheetu, whose mouth hung open. “Something’s going to fly in there if you don’t shut your mouth.” Eli joked. “You just… you and Pitou… you two…” Cheetu couldn’t get out the words. “Spit it out man.” Eli said. “You actually softened Pitou… you actually… you… they hugged you!” “What’s wrong with a hug?” “Normally nothing, but when it’s from Neferpitou!? I would be fearing for my life if they were that close to me!” “Well I guess that I’m just special.” “No kidding…” Cheetu said in a dumbfounded state. “Hey, I’m going hunting again in a few days. I want you to come with me. I want to make something special for this occasion.” Eli said with a cheerful smile. “Oh, okay.” Cheetu said. With that, Eli went back to his room to rest, as Shroud had nearly drained him of all his energy. He slept well, knowing that he had a new friend.


	11. The Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli was once again trying to enjoy a moment of peace, but it was once again interrupted. The Chimera King harmed himself in an act of pride, forcing Neferpitou to stop watching for intruders to heal him. After all of the excitement, Eli is left exhausted, and he tries to get rest before his planned hunt with Cheetu, but on his way to bed, he is stopped by an unwelcome visitor.

# Chapter 11: The Hunters

A few days later, Eli got to work in his journal, drawing a few more pictures. Youpi happened to pass by, so he happily showed him his progress. Youpi wore his unnaturally wide grin when he saw his picture. Eli was used to it now. He had gained so much trust with the Chimera Ants, that he actually got a couple to pose for a drawing. He spent the rest of the day drawing volunteers. The day was going to end rather well for Eli, though it seemed fate had something different planned. He was in the throne room. He was writing down some ideas on abilities. Cheetu and a few others had gone out to investigate a disturbance, so Eli was using this as a way to pass the time. Now that he knew his type, a specialist, he knew what he would be capable of once he was free from Shroud’s shackles. The woman, Komugi, and the King were still playing their game. Eli wasn’t paying much attention to their game, but he would occasionally pick up on a conversation they were having. He mostly only heard key words. 

He heard the woman mention something about offering her life if she lost. Eli assumed that she was oblivious to everything that was happening. He doubted that the woman even realized that her opponent wasn’t human. Still though, Eli went back to his planning, jotting down sketches of what his ability would look like and a quick summary of what it would do. Eli then heard the King mention something about being foolish. He ignored him at first, and it wasn’t until he heard a horrific ripping noise that he looked over to the King. The King, in an act of pride, tore off his own arm. “Sire!” Pouf shouted in horror. “What the hell did you do!?” Eli shouted. 

“I will retrieve Pitou at once. We must heal your arm!” Pouf shouted. “No, the game will continue.” The King argued. “W-what’s going on?” Komugi asked. Some of the blood had spattered on her face. “You are bleeding out man! Put your pride aside!” Eli shouted. “The game will continue.” The King said. “Sir, if I may. We will have Pitou heal you while you continue your game. If that offer does not suffice, then you may take my head.” Pouf said. “Very well. Come here so I may take it.” “You can’t be serious!” Eli said. “No! I won’t play until you have your arm looked at!” Komugi objected. “What?” The King asked. “I won’t play until you fix your arm!” She got a stubborn expression on her face, refusing to budge until she got her way. She cared a great deal about the King. “Very well. Summon Pitou.” The King said. Eli breathed a sigh of relief. 

Pitou came the moment they heard about what happened. They came to the King’s side and began the healing process immediately. Pouf and Eli both grouped with Pitou to assess the damage. “You won’t be able to use your en?” Pouf asked Pitou. “No. Dr. Blythe uses all of my energy. You’ll have to take my place.” Pitou said. “It takes a lot of power to heal people, huh?” Eli asked. “It does. I’m totally defenseless while Dr. Blythe is active.” “Then I’ll stay here and defend while Pouf goes out and looks for intruders.” Eli said, acting like a proud knight. From behind him, he heard Pouf snicker. “What?” Eli asked. “You? Defend us from attackers?” Pouf asked. He still looked down on Eli, and humans in general. “Hey! I can… I can be tough.” Eli complained. “I doubt that.” Pouf said. 

Eli still stayed in the room, though he felt a little useless. He went back to writing down his ideas for an ability. Occasionally, he’d look over to Pitou and the King. He’d look at Pitou, and sometimes they would catch Eli and they’d exchange smiles. About an hour had passed, and Pitou was finishing up with the healing. Eli decided it was time to go to bed, as it was already the middle of the night. He started walking down the stairs, letting out a yawn and saying, “What was he thinking? That was incredibly stupid. Does he really have that much pride?” What Eli wasn’t aware of was that someone was at the side of the stairs, hiding. It was a human that had snuck into the palace while Pitou’s en was deactivated. Eli got to the bottom of the stairs, then the human struck. He grabbed Eli from behind and pulled him into the shadows, covering his mouth so he couldn’t call for help. This man was planning on killing Eli, but paused when he realized that Eli was human, and that he’d seen him before. 

With the man’s touch, Eli had another vision. Eli saw a circle on the ground, which suddenly opened up, and the man climbed through. Eli’s perspective suddenly fell into the portal, revealing a pure white room. When Eli snapped out of it, he heard the man say, “I’m going to let you go, but you are to remain quiet. Do you understand?” Eli nodded in response. The man let go of Eli, who quickly turned and took a step back to see his attacker. He was a finely dressed man with neatly kept hair, black rimmed glasses, and a fine suit. Though, he was missing his shoes. “Who are you?” Eli asked. “My name is Knov. You’re Eli, right? The boy that Killua met a while ago.” He said. “Killua? That kid at the restaurant?” “That’s right. What are you doing here? How have the chimera not killed you yet?” “Well, at first it was because we had a deal.” “A deal?” “Yeah. You see this thing on my shoulder?” Eli asked. 

Knov adjusted his glasses and said, “I have to use gyo to see it, but I do see it.” “Well, the King and the three elites have agreed to help me get rid of it. Of course, I put down some conditions.” “Conditions?” Knov asked. “Yeah. They agreed that until they freed me and my people of these parasites, that they wouldn’t harm a human in an unprovoked attack, or eat human flesh. I think the latter might last a while afterwards.” “What makes you say that?” “Because I fed them food so good, they’ll never think about human flesh again!” Eli said proudly. “I doubt that… how did you get them to agree to those terms?” Knov asked. “The King wanted Shroud, the parasite on my shoulder. He seemed to want him even more when he sliced off Pouf’s arm.” Eli said, much to Knov’s surprise. “What!?” “Oh, yeah. Pouf tried to kill me when I first came here, and Shroud protected me.” 

Knov couldn’t believe the power behind that creature. “That creature crippled one of the elites!?” Knov asked. “Oh, yeah, and he wasn’t happy about it either… I’m still trying to get through to him.” “Get through to him?” “Yeah, I’m trying to change the hearts and minds of the elites and the other Chimera Ants.” Knov let out a slight snicker. “Hey! I’ve made progress!” Eli said. “I doubt that.” “Let me explain. You see, Nef and Youpi—” Eli was cut off by Pitou’s en suddenly surging through the entire palace once more. 

It wasn’t as intense as the first time Eli came and met the Chimera Ants, but it was still quite heavy, and not something the faint of heart could walk through. Eli looked up the stairs and said, “Oh, Nef’s done. Her en can be pretty intense sometimes.” He looked back over to Knov, only to see that he had vanished into thin air. “Huh… must be his ability.” Eli said. Pitou started walking down the steps then. “Eli? What are you doing over there?” They asked. “Huh? Oh, I just thought I saw something.” Eli said. He was protecting Knov because he needed more time. 

He still needed to break through to Pouf, and if they knew there was an intruder, a full-on conflict would spark, and Eli would never get the chance to get through to him. “You should go to bed. Shroud’s exhausted you and it’s late as it is. You were probably just tired.” Pitou said, showing actual worry and concern for Eli. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Eli said with a yawn. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Pitou said. “Yeah, see you tomorrow. Goodnight Nef.” Eli said. “Goodnight, Eli.” Pitou said as Eli wandered off toward his room. Eli didn’t wake up as soon as the sun had risen this time, and it wasn’t just because he was more tired than usual. Eli was lying down, facing the horizon, but the light was interrupted this morning by Pitou. They had stood up on the stone railing on the balcony, casting a long shadow that shielded Eli from the sunlight. Pitou felt that Eli could have used an extra hour of rest after the exhausting day that came prior. After an hour had passed, Pitou stepped aside and allowed the sunlight to stir Eli awake. He sat up in bed and stretched with a yawn. 

He walked out to the balcony to see Pitou. “Hey Nef, how’s it going?” He asked. Pitou winced at that nickname. “Please, could you stop calling me Nef?” They asked. “Well… I guess since you asked so nicely, I’ll stop.” Eli said with a smile. “Thank you.” “So, how’s your morning?” Eli asked. “Quiet, which is boring, but it means none of us are in danger.” “I suppose that’s fair. Any plans for today?” “Same as always. I’m just going to be standing watch here. Do you have any plans today?” “Me and Cheetu are going hunting. I wanted to cook something nice since you’ve started being nice to me.” “Are you trying to flatter me?” Pitou asked with a smile. “Maybe…” Eli said with a smile of his own. 

Eli then looked at Pitou, inspecting them, trying to figure out something. “Something on your mind?” Pitou asked when they noticed Eli’s stares. “Oh, uh… you see… I have an embarrassing question.” Eli said, trying not to look Pitou directly in the eye. “Should I be worried?” Pitou asked with a raised brow. “Well, you see… I’m confused about something.” Eli said. He was trying to avoid the question. “And that would be?” Pitou said, trying to get the question out of him. “You see… what are you?” Eli asked. “Oh, well… I’m part Chimera Ant, part human, part cat, and I think I might have a little bit of dog mixed in somewhere—” “N-no, that’s not… that’s not what I meant.” Eli said, stopping Pitou from going into a long explanation. 

“What do you mean then?” Pitou asked. “Well… are you a man or a woman?” Eli asked. “Oh, I see. I heard that you’ve been calling me a woman. You’ve probably heard the others refer to me as ‘lord,’ right?” “Y-yeah…” Eli said shyly. “Well…” Pitou brought their finger up to their chin and pondered for a moment. “I guess… I’m both.” They said. “Both?” Eli asked. “Yes, both.” “What does that mean?” “I’ll let you figure that out.” Pitou said with a fiendish smile. Eli’s face started turning red. “Well, I… I should get going. The dish I have planned takes time to cook, so I need to get to hunting while the day is young.” Eli said, trying to get out of this awkward interaction. “Alright. Be careful out there, okay?” Pitou asked with genuine worry. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.” Eli said. He grabbed his machete and left the room. 

He met up with Cheetu and they headed toward the forest. Along the way, they started up a conversation. "So you know a few languages?" Cheetu asked. "I do. I had a lot of time on my hands back home, so I decided to learn a few." Eli said. "How many do you know?" Cheetu asked. "Well, there's my native language, then there's English, Japanese, French, which is one of my favorites, and a few others that I've only dabbled with." Eli explained. "How did a forgotten island even get books on that many things?" "I don't know, but the books are really old... I think some of them may be out of date." "Hm... the palace has a library, maybe you could check those books?" "I will, but for now, let's focus on hunting." Eli said as he rose his machete. "You're hunting with a machete? Nothing else?" Cheetu asked. "It worked out last time." Eli said. "I guess that's true. What are we after?" "Another boar. I want to make a pot roast." "Okay. I'll have it before you know it!" Cheetu went to run off, but Eli stopped him. "Hold it. We're doing this my way." "What!? Why!?" Cheetu complained. "Because if you take off running, every animal within a kilometer of this place will hide away where we can't find them." "Alright, I guess that's true." They came to where Eli went fishing not long ago. "Animals should come here to get a drink. We'll wait here until we can find something." Eli said. "Okay." Cheetu said. 

Cheetu was eerily quiet while they were waiting, and it was completely unlike him. It made Eli worried. “Cheetu… you’re unusually quiet. Is something wrong?” Eli asked. Cheetu let out a sigh and asked, “You know how we were out fighting last night?” “Yes. What happened?” “I got beaten badly, and now I can’t use my ability.” “Why not?” “This smoke user I got in a fight with, I used my ability on him. I tag my target, and then we’re teleported to an enclosed area. My target has to tag me within a certain amount of time, otherwise they disappear forever. I made a rule that if I was ever tagged, I could never use my ability again.” “Why would you do that?” “You can set rules for your ability to make it stronger.” “Oh, I see…” Eli still saw a forlorn look on Cheetu’s face. “What else is the matter?” Eli asked. “Leol is dead, and Flutters is missing, and I can’t contact him using my telepathy, so he’s probably dead too.” Cheetu said. “Telepathy?” “The lower ranked Chimera Ants can communicate using telepathy. The elites don’t have it though.” “I see…” Eli didn’t know Leol and Flutters that well. He tended to keep his distance because they were hostile towards him. 

The sun was beating down on the two. It was a particularly hot day. “Damn… it’s hot.” Eli complained, partly because he wanted to change the subject. “Then take off that hat of yours.” Cheetu said. “No, I only take this off to sleep and eat.” Cheetu had never seen Eli without that wool hat of his. It would almost seem foreign or alien to see him without it. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Why are you always wearing that hat?” Cheetu asked. “It was made by my grandmother, then it was passed down to my father, and now it’s mine. It was made from the wool of my grandmother’s first kill; a titan goat. My dad added the hair of his first kill, a goliath bear, and it also has my first kill’s hair on it.” Eli said. He took off his hat and pointed out the stitching. “What was your first kill?” Cheetu asked. “A brush crawler. They’re like wolves, but venomous.” “Good to know…” Eli put his hat back on and watched the stable pond in front of him. 

Cheetu looked at this boy, and thought about what he was trying to do, how he was trying to change everything. “Look…” Cheetu said. Eli looked over to him, sensing he was conflicted. “What is it?” Eli asked. “I know what you’re trying to do. You want humans and Chimera Ants to get along. You want us to live together in harmony, or whatever. Do you honestly think it’ll end up like that?” “I can certainly try.” Eli said, not faltering in the slightest. “You can’t be serious!? Look at me! I’m a freak, a monster! I sliced off the fingers of a bunch of police officers and swallowed them in front of them. Do you honestly think I can be a good guy? Do you honestly think I could be a part of a human society?” Cheetu asked. “Why don’t you try?” Eli asked. 

“Do you honestly not hear the words coming out of your mouth?” Cheetu asked. “Cheetu, your past doesn’t matter.” “I already told you, I attacked humans, they’ll never—” “I’m not talking about the past of your current body.” Eli said. Cheetu was suddenly taken back. “What?” He asked. “I can see it in your eyes. You remember your previous life, the life you had as a human.” “I… how do you…?” Cheetu couldn’t get the words out, but Eli knew what he was asking. “I can always tell what people are thinking when I look them in the eye. I… learned how to do it. I got sick of people pretending to be nice to me. I wanted to know if people were really being nice to me or not, so I learned how to tell the difference. A person’s eyes never lie.” Eli said. Cheetu went silent for a long moment. 

After he absorbed Eli’s story, he said, “Look, before I was… this, I was—” “I already told you, that doesn’t matter anymore.” Eli said. “What?” “The point is… you died, but someone saw it fit that you got a second chance.” Eli said as he stood up. He walked over to Cheetu and said, “What matters now is what you decide to do with your newfound life.” Eli patted Cheetu with his fist. “You’ve got a point, but… I don’t think anyone wants to give a home to an ex-maneater.” Cheetu said. “Well… you could always come to my village, Eilsar.” “You think they’ll have me?” “Of course. Sure, you’re a cocky idiot, but as long as you provide for the village, the village will provide for you.” “Well… I’ll think about it.” “That’s all I ask. Now, go out and look for tracks. We’re wasting daylight.” “On it.” Cheetu said as he disappeared into the forest. 

Eli went to the water and brought out his machete. He started sharpening it, making sure it could kill quickly. Eli was at peace, honing the blade to its finest edge, but that peace became disturbed. A large circle that appeared to lead into a black void suddenly opened up underneath him. Eli fell in, and he suddenly appeared inside a massive white room. There were no features in this room. It was a perfect, white cube. Eli took a look around, and found several people standing across from him. It was the group from that restaurant. 

Knov walked forward and said, “Hello Eli.” “You? You’re interrupting my hunt.” Eli said. “I do apologize, but I felt it necessary that you meet my associates.” Knov turned to the group. “The big one with the sunglasses is Morel.” Knov said as he pointed to a large man that towered above all of the others. “These two are Knuckle and Shoot.” He pointed to a large man with a pompadour haircut and all white clothes. The other wore a long coat, and he seemed rather submissive, almost hiding behind the first. “You’ve met Killua. The other is—” “Hi there! I’m Gon!” Said the boy in the green jacket, interrupting Knov. Gon had a cheerful attitude, at least it seemed. Eli could see through it though. That boy, he wanted something dead, and badly. 

“Why have you brought me here?” Eli asked. “We want information on the Chimera Ants. You have survived among their ranks for some time, and it seems you’ll survive for much longer, or at least as long as that creature is on your shoulder.” Knov said. “What exactly are you asking me here?” Eli asked, getting a little angry. “We need your help if we want to take down the elites and the King.” Killua said. “You mean you want to kill them, right?” Eli asked. They could tell that Eli was angry. 

“You don’t actually care about these creatures, do you?” Knov asked. “Oh, no. I’ve only been cooking for them, helping them through their emotions, befriending them, and convincing them to be peaceful because I want them to die!” Eli shouted. “Now, hold on, how could you honestly care about them? They have killed and eaten countless people!” Killua argued. “That’s not their fault.” Eli said. “What the hell are you talking about!?” Killua shouted. “They’ve just been brought into this world. Yes, many of them have their old memories, but they didn’t surface immediately. From the moment they were born they were told to seek out and devour humans or bring them to the queen. By the point that they started realizing it might be wrong, they were already addicted. They pushed away their morals, they were taken by their beasts. It wasn’t their fault. They were told that it was normal, so they believed it.” Eli said. 

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t have anyone get taken by those monsters.” Killua said. “Don’t act like it wasn’t the same for you.” Eli said to Killua, silencing him. Eli stepped up to Killua and looked him dead in the eyes. “I see it in your eyes. You’re what? Fourteen? Fifteen years old? You’re so young, and yet you’ve killed more people than you can even remember.” Eli looked deep into Killua’s eyes, pulling away all of his secrets. “Why? Why do you kill so freely? Because you were told it was normal.” Eli said. Killua was dead quiet. He wanted to speak up and argue with Eli… hell, he wanted to kill Eli, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. 

Eli stepped away and looked at the whole group. “You are all here to kill the Chimera Ants. I know that they’ve made mistakes, and I’m not as naïve as to say that every last Chimera Ant will just magically have their hearts and minds turn to good, but I know that a few of them have. I’ve made progress. I’ve done more good than your self-righteous crusade could ever hope to accomplish. For the few weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve stopped the Chimera Ants’ killings. I did that! I did that by simply being there and talking! I did that by befriending them! You!? You’ve done nothing! You aren’t some kind of war heroes! You’re all a bunch of bastards. Hell, I don’t even know why you brought him along with you!” Eli said as he pointed to Gon. “He can handle himself.” Killua said. “That’s not what I meant. I can see the look in his eyes.” Eli looked straight to Gon. 

“Oh, you are just aching to kill someone, aren’t you? Tell me, who is it? I’m guessing it’s one of the elites, right? Is it Pouf? Youpi? Pitou?” Eli saw a twitch when he said Pitou. “Ah, so it is her.” Eli said. “Her? What are you talking about? Pitou’s not a woman.” Killua said. “Pitou is both. Of course, you wouldn’t know that. You guys don’t even want to attempt to see the more complex details. You would all make terrible art critics. Where others would see a beautiful mural, or a colorful, vibrant painting… you narrow minded bastards would just see a blank, white canvas.” Eli said. All of them were silent, not saying a word. Eli turned his back to them and took a look around the room. “Let me out.” He demanded. A door was opened at the end of the room, allowing Eli to leave. 

He was back in the forest, right where he was taken. Right as he got settled and calmed down a bit from that interaction, Cheetu came out of the forest holding a freshly killed boar. “Hey! I’ve been calling your name.” Cheetu said. “Sorry. I must have spaced out for a second. I see you caught a boar.” Eli said, trying to shift the subject. “Oh, yeah. I was able to sneak up on him well enough.” “Good. Let’s head back. It’ll take a while to cook the roast.” “How long is a while?” “It won’t be ready until later this evening.” “What!? Why so long!?” “The greatest things in life take time, Cheetu.” “Alright…” “Don’t worry, I’ll let you get the first pickings since you helped me.” “Thanks. I do actually like your cooking.” “Thanks.” Eli said. 

“You ever thought about opening up a business like a restaurant or a diner?” Cheetu asked. “I don’t even know how currency works.” “I guess that’s a fair point.” “Well… I might need to figure it out though.” Eli said. “Why?” “I like the rest of the world. I want to be a part of it.” “You do?” “Yeah. It all seems so interesting. I want to see it.” “Well… I think a certain cat would help you out with all of that.” “Really, I’d love that more than anything but… Nef would never abandon the King.” “I see… how does that make you feel?” Cheetu asked. “Well… I don’t know… I don’t really know anything anymore to be honest with you.” “Well… let me ask you this: how do you feel about Pitou?” Cheetu asked. “What?” Eli asked, getting sheepish. “Don’t play dumb. I’ve seen the way you look and act around them. That body language is easy to understand.” “Then why’d you ask?” Eli asked. “Because I wanted to hear it from you.” Cheetu laughed. 

They made their way to the palace. Cheetu left Eli to prepare the food. Before long, Pitou came walking in. “Hey, Eli. Were you and Cheetu successful?” They asked. “Oh, yeah. I’m preparing the meat now.” Eli said. “How much are you making?” “I’m just going to make some pot roast and a few vegetables.” “Only a few are going to be here at the palace…” Pitou said with a forlorn look. “What’s wrong?” Eli asked, noticing their dread. “I… didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you worrying, but we found the blood of one of the Chimera Ants guarding the palace last night, and he’s nowhere to be found.” 

In that instant, Eli knew exactly what happened. Knov had killed that Chimera Ant when he invaded the palace last night. “Ne… Pitou, I mean. There’s something I have to tell you.” Eli said. “What is it?” Pitou asked. “When I was hunting today, I was taken by a group of humans.” “What!? Are you okay?” Pitou was genuinely worried about Eli, and that made him happy, but he had something more serious to focus on. “I’m fine. One of them had this ability to make portals that led to some kind of empty room.” “What did they want from you? You’re not one of our soldiers.” “They wanted me to betray all of you. They wanted me to act as a spy and reveal any of your weaknesses to them.” “What did you say?” “Do you even have to ask that? I told them all to go to hell!” Eli shouted proudly. 

Pitou couldn’t honestly believe it. Pitou had always known humans to look out for themselves. The only human that’s helped the Chimera Ants was the senator, and that was simply because he feared the King, but Eli was different. He was helping the Chimera Ants simply because he cared about them. “Eli… you betrayed your own kind? For us?” Pitou asked in a dumbfounded state. “I didn’t betray anyone. I’m just trying to keep as many people alive as I can. You guys, well… you guys are new to the world and I don’t want to see this end with blood shed.” Pitou gave him a warm smile before stepping closer. “You’re too kind for your own good.” “I suppose I am.” Eli said with a smile. “Say, Eli?” “Yeah?” “Has your nen ever manifested in some way? Somehow escaped Shroud?” “Well… I did notice something weird when I touched nen users.” “What?” Pitou asked. “When I touch them, I get a vision of their ability.” “Really? So, when you hugged me, you saw my ability?” Pitou asked. “No, it didn’t work that time, but I think that was because I already knew what your ability was.” Eli theorized. “I see…” 

Pitou looked over to the boar and all of the ingredients. “Is there anything I could help with?” Pitou asked. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got it covered, but it’s nice of you to ask.” Eli said. “Well, I’ll be up on your tower if you need me.” “Alright. I’ll come and get you when it’s ready… or if I feel like you’re getting lonely.” As they walked away, Eli thought he saw a faint blush on Pitou’s face. Eli finished getting everything ready then set the meat to slowly cook over the rest of the day. 

He sat in the kitchen and waited. Of course, it would take several hours for the meal to cook, and it would seem even longer if Eli simply sat there and watched. Eli decided to bring out his journal. He got to thinking about the humans that were trying so desperately to end the lives of his friends. “They must have something planned… there must be someone in their group as strong as the King, otherwise they wouldn’t try an assault like this.” Eli thought to himself. He began thinking about the worst-case scenario… where everyone died. Not only the Chimera Ants would die that day, but he and that woman, Komugi, would also be caught in the crossfire. He thought about ways out, ways to prevent the worst-case scenario. That’s when it came to him. He opened up his journal to the pages where he was crafting his idea for an ability then added to it. He added a new power, a brief description, and a note. 

Right when he was finishing up with his idea, he began to hear something. It was music, a familiar kind. It was Pouf’s violin that he was hearing. Although, the notes that came out were broken, and nowhere near correct. Eli followed the horrific screeching notes. Soon, angered grunts of frustration began to accompany the violin. Eli came to the dining hall, and standing at the center of the room, playing the violin, was Pouf. 

He was taking a break, and Eli could easily tell that he was angry. The fact that he was holding a broken violin bow in his hand proved that he was. He hadn’t even noticed that Eli had walked in yet. Eli stepped closer and found that there were sheets lied out on one of the tables. He picked it up and found that it was sheet music. The song that Pouf was attempting to play was one titled, “The Beauty of Life.” It was a song that appeared to be written by an optimist for optimists. “Why is he trying to play a song like this?” Eli thought. 

“The Beauty of Life.” Eli read aloud so Pouf would know he was there. Pouf quickly turned around with a look of shock. He couldn’t believe he allowed Eli to sneak up on him. “How long have you been there?” Pouf asked, demanded really. “Not long. I heard your music from the kitchen and decided to see what was going on.” “My practice does not concern you.” “I think it does when you’re having trouble.” “I am not having trouble!” “Are you sure? I heard those broken notes earlier.” Eli said. “Get out!” “Alright! You don’t have to be a jerk about it, you know.” Eli said as he stepped away. 

Eli walked through the palace and got to thinking. He knew that he needed to lighten Pouf’s heart, but how would he do that? He thought about how Pouf had broken his violin bow. He wondered if he had broken any others. He knew someone that would know. He went back to his tower and found Pitou. “Hey, Pitou.” He said. They hopped down next to Eli and said, “Hello Eli. What do you need?” “Have you noticed that Pouf’s been trying out a new song?” “Yes, I’ve noticed. He wants to perform it for the King, but he hasn’t even been able to get through the first part so far.” “He had broken his violin bow when I found him practicing earlier.” “So, he’s broken another one then…” “He’s broken more?” “Many.” “Okay… say, I have an idea, but I’ll need your help.” Eli said. Pitou raised a brow as they listened to Eli’s plan with intrigue.


	12. From Us to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli has broken through and softened two of the three elites. Now the only one that remains is Pouf. He is bound and determined to break through to him as well, and in order to do so, he has enlisted the help of Neferpitou. He has invited the both of them to dinner in an effort to melt Pouf's icy heart. And later, Eli makes a suggestion to Pitou that brings out a side of them that no one knew existed.

# Chapter 12: From Us to You

Pitou showed Eli where Pouf threw out all of his old bows that he had broken. Eli took the strings from each one of them and found a bow that was, relatively, intact. The strings were broken, but the wooden base was in one piece. “What are you trying to do?” Pitou asked Eli. “I want to make him a new violin bow.” Eli said. “Why?” “Because… it’s a nice thing to do?” Eli said, as if it was an obvious answer. “Pouf has been rude and vicious to you ever since you’ve gotten here. Why would you want to be nice to him?” “You were mean to me too.” “Fair enough.” “And as God as my witness, I will melt that icy heart of his!” Eli boasted. 

“Bold words, but how do you plan on accomplishing that?” Pitou asked. “I’ve already told you: we are going to make him a new violin bow.” “I don’t think… wait, ‘we?’” “Yeah. I don’t know how to make one, really, so I figured, maybe… you could use Dr. Blythe to help me put it together?” Eli asked nervously. “Are you serious!? We are on high alert tonight, and I can’t use my en while using Dr. Blythe!” “I know, but it’ll only be for a couple of minutes. Besides, you said the King doesn’t like your en anyways.” “It doesn’t matter what he likes or dislikes, it’s to defend him and y—” Pitou caught themselves before they said it, but they could tell by the look in Eli’s eyes that he knew what they almost said. “Pitou… I…” Eli couldn’t speak, but he wore a warm smile on his face. 

Pitou sat down on a nearby chair. “I… I’ve never had a friend before. I’ve never had somebody who cared about me before. I don’t want to lose that.” Pitou said. “You aren’t going to lose me, Pitou. You’re right here next to me, and Youpi is by the King and Pouf is on standby. Nobody is getting to the King. Besides, even if they did, the King is way too powerful to be killed easily.” Eli said. “Well… I suppose you’re right. Let’s get started then.” They summoned Dr. Blythe and began working. “Thanks for doing this.” Eli said. “You’re welcome.” Pitou said. 

“Besides, it’ll be nice to give your brother a gift.” Eli said. “Brother?” Pitou asked. “Yeah, Pouf. Don’t tell me you’ve never thought of him as family.” “Why would I?” “Because you all came from the queen. Hell, all of the Chimera Ants are your siblings, really.” “I guess that’s a fair point…” Pitou said as they thought about this idea. “That would mean the King is your brother too. I suppose that would make you a princess… or a prince… I’m not sure what to refer to you as anymore.” “Well, I don’t want you calling me princess.” “Oh, sorry…” Eli said timidly. “However… I wouldn’t complain if you called me lady.” Pitou said with a slight smile. 

Eli let out a little chuckle. “Alright… Lady Pitou.” Eli said, just so he could hear how it sounded. Eli then got to thinking about something. “Say, Pitou.” Eli said. “Yes?” They asked. “How old are you?” He asked. “Well… I suppose that depends on which body you’re asking about.” “Which body? You remember your previous body?” “Sort of… it’s more like a feeling. It’s like I think about something and just know it’s right.” “I see… so, about my previous question…” Eli said to get back on track. “Oh, right. Well, this body isn’t even a year old yet, but I know that I was a late teenager in my previous body, maybe an adult.” Pitou said. 

“I see… when’s your birthday?” Eli asked. “Why are you so curious about this?” “I don’t know… I guess it’s because my birthday is tomorrow.” “It is?” “Yep. I turn eighteen tomorrow.” “Oh, well… happy birthday.” Pitou wasn’t used to being kind, so they were awkward when it came to saying pleasantries. “Thank you, Pitou.” Eli said. Pitou then realized something. “Wait, you’re seventeen?” They asked. “Uh, yeah? How old did you think I was?” “I just assumed you were thirteen because of how short you were.” “What! I’m not that short!” “You are chest height to me… you don’t even have any facial hair either.” Eli then realized Pitou was just teasing him. “Cut it out!” “Okay.” Pitou chuckled. It was then that Pitou finished piecing together the bow. “It’s done.” They said. Eli lifted it up and inspected it. “It’s perfect!” Eli said cheerfully. “Thank you.” Pitou said. They began using their en once more. “Alright. I want you to invite Pouf to eat dinner with us. Do your best to convince him to come.” “Okay. I’ll see you then.” Pitou said as they left the room. 

Eli managed to find a box he could put the bow in. He tied it up to create a make-shift gift box. Dinner was ready not long after that, and Eli, Pitou and Pouf sat at a table together. Cheetu got some food before Pitou and Pouf showed up and took it to another room to eat. Eli had no idea how Pitou was able to convince Pouf to come, but he was glad that it worked out. It was awkward, incredibly so. Pouf simply sat with the food in front of him, refusing to eat it. He simply stared at Eli with spite in his eyes. 

Eli looked over to Pitou, who nudged their head toward Pouf. “Pouf, uh… you should eat. The food’s going to get cold.” Eli said. Pouf said nothing, just continued his staring. “It’s good. I made it myself.” “That’s what worries me.” Pouf said. “At least he’s talking.” Pitou said. “Look, ask anyone else around the palace. They’ll say my cooking is good.” Eli said. “I will not accept food from a human.” Pouf said. “Seriously? That’s what this is about?” Eli asked. “Your kind is only here to serve the King, nothing more.” “Okay… this is just…” Eli couldn’t think of what to say, so he just let out a long sigh. 

“Eli… the gift?” Pitou said. “Right.” Eli said. He had it just off to the side. He grabbed it and handed it to Pouf. Pouf simply stared at it, not trusting Eli. “Pouf, please, just humor us.” Pitou said. “Us?” Pouf asked. “Yeah, that’s a gift from us to you.” Eli said. Pouf let out a sigh and opened the gift box and saw the violin bow inside. “What’s this?” “It’s a new bow for your violin.” Eli said. “Eli saw that you broke your old one and we decided to make you a new one.” Pitou added. “Why is this different from any other violin bow?” Pouf asked. “Because we made it especially for you, and the hairs that make up the strings are made from the ones we took from all of your old bows.” Eli said. “What’s the point of that?” Pouf asked. “Well, it saves resources for one, but it’s part of tradition where I come from. You see, my people believe that past experiences should always be remembered, as they’re always a part of you. So, we took the bows from all of your past songs that you’ve played and made a new bow out of them.” Eli said. 

Pouf inspected the bow for a moment, but then tossed it aside. “It’s worthless.” He said. Eli was furious, and even Pitou seemed insulted. “Hold on a second! If that bow was just made by me, I wouldn’t have minded you tossing it aside like that, but Pitou made that themselves. They did most of the work, so you ought to show some damn respect.” Eli said as he stood up from his chair. “I don’t need to show respect, especially to someone who is wasting their power when they should be protecting the King!” Pouf yelled as he looked to Pitou. “No! Eyes over here, your argument is with me!” Eli yelled at Pouf. Pouf stood up and faced Eli. 

“What the hell is your problem, huh? Why do you hate me so much?” Pitou felt like stepping in, but another part of them was enjoying the spectacle too much. “You humans are all the same. Thinking you’re so special.” “No, this isn’t about humanity. You hate me especially. Why?” “I don’t need to justify myself to you.” “Yeah, you kind of do.” “I need to return to the King.” Pouf said as he tried to walk out. “No, you don’t… wait, I get what this is about now.” Pouf turned back to Eli. “This is about the King agreeing to help me, isn’t it?” Eli asked. “You need to stop talking…” Pouf said, growing uncomfortable. “That is it! You hate me because the King made the decision to aid a human, and not just one human, but their entire people, and that pisses you off, doesn’t it!?” “Stop talking…” 

Eli got in Pouf’s face. Well, at least as much as he could, as Pouf was considerably taller than the small boy. “You’re frustrated, aren’t you? You’re angry, you want to do something, but you can’t. You’d kill me the moment you got the chance, wouldn’t you?” Eli asked. “Of course, I’m frustrated. I’ve wanted you to drop dead the moment you walked into this palace.” “Oh, so you think you know frustration?” “I know frustration very well! The King keeps making decisions that make him look weak, and he refuses my input again and again!” “And you think you know what it’s like to be angry?” “The King nearly killed himself due to his own pride, and he only accepted help when a human forced him to!” “And you think you know what it’s like to want to end it all!?” Eli screamed, which silenced the room. 

Pitou’s eyes went wide, and Pouf became speechless. “Answer me!” Eli shouted, but no answer came. Eli realized how angry he was getting, so he sat down and tried to calm himself. Pouf used his ability and saw Eli’s emotional state… it was impossible to understand. Eli took a few deep breaths and steadied himself. “Eli… what did you mean by that?” Pitou asked with a horrified look. “When I was thirteen years old… I reached a breaking point. Everyone avoided me like I was a plague. They were afraid of Shroud, afraid of his power. They thought that at any moment, Shroud could go berserk and kill them all, so they tried to pretend that I didn’t exist. I just… couldn’t take it anymore.” Pitou came over to Eli and sat down next to him. “I tried everything I could to get rid of Shroud, though I was even more naïve back then than I am now. I thought I could get rid of him with sticks, stones and prayers. Hell, I even tried cutting him off.” He pulled down the shoulder of his shirt, showing several deep scars around the skin where Shroud was resting. “Eli…” Pitou said, not sure on what to say. 

Eli took in a deep breath before continuing. “When I… when I tried to cut him off, but failed, I… I looked at the blade and thought, ‘what’s the point?’ I turned the blade toward my throat and tried to stab myself… Shroud broke the blade before it could reach me. I tried killing myself in so many ways during the following weeks. I tried to jump off of a cliff, but Shroud caught me. I tried to poison myself, but Shroud forced me to puke it back up. I found an old gun and tried to shoot myself, but Shroud just broke the gun in half. I was a prisoner in my own body… hell, I’m still a prisoner. Shroud just… he won’t ever let me live in peace…” Pitou, not knowing what else to do, simply placed their hand on Eli’s shoulder. “I… I’m sorry, Eli.” They said. “It’s… alright. You didn’t put Shroud on my shoulder.” Pouf walked over to the violin bow that was lying on the ground. He held it in one hand and tapped the palm of his other hand with it. Pouf then walked toward the door and said, “I’m getting my violin.” Pitou was shocked, but Eli was happy. “I broke through…” He said. 

Before long, Pouf came back into the room with his violin in hand. He was trying to hide it, but he was nervous. No doubt he was thinking of all his previous failures. “Pouf.” Eli said. “Let me give you some advice.” “What?” Pouf asked. “That song you’re trying to play. It’s a song of life and happiness. Those are subjects that you don’t think about often. Your head is usually filled with fantasies of the mass genocide of humanity.” “That’s not true…” Pouf said. “Don’t lie.” Pouf just looked away from him. “Clear your mind of those things. Instead, think about… what life would be like if the Chimera Ants and humans were unified.” “You mean hell?” Pouf asked. “Be serious!” Eli complained. 

Pouf just rolled his eyes and got the violin into position. This time, when he played the song, he didn’t miss a beat. It was wonderfully done, every note in its place and played as it was meant to be played. Pouf did not slip or stutter a single time, and the result was a beautiful song that filled the room with life. Upon the song’s conclusion, Eli began to applaud. Pitou joined in as well. Pouf didn’t expect the reaction, but he took a bow in response. He rose from his bow and looked at a clock on one of the walls. “I really should be getting back to the King now… thank you, Eli.” Pouf said. “We need to talk about something before you leave.” Pitou said. Pouf started walking over. “Now even Pouf likes you, even if he doesn’t want to show it.” Pitou said. “Yeah…” Eli said with a proud smile. Pouf came up and could now hear the conversation. “Now we can focus on getting Shroud off of you as soon as possible.” Pitou said, aggravating Shroud. “Why so quick?” Eli asked. “War is coming, and you’ll be put in harm’s way when it does come, so we need to get rid of Shroud so we can get you out of here.” Pitou said. 

Eli felt differently. “If you guys do manage to get Shroud off of me, I’m not going to up and leave you all.” “Why?” Pouf asked. He couldn’t understand why he would risk himself. “Because it’s the right thing to do. I’m not going to let you all get hurt. I’m fairly sure that I’m pretty strong, so I could definitely help you guys fight.” Eli said. Pouf didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. He walked out of the room without saying a word. “What happens now?” Eli asked. “We prepare, I suppose.” Pitou said. They rubbed their eyes. They were exhausted but didn’t want to show it. “Are you okay?” Eli asked. “I’m fine.” Pitou said. “No, you’re not. You’re exhausted.” “I’ll be fine.” “No, you’re not. You need some rest.” “No, I don’t… besides, I can’t sleep on nights like this. Nights where the King is in danger… and now you’re in danger on top of that.” 

Pitou desperately needed rest, and Eli knew this. He was trying to think of a way to convince them to sleep. “Well, you can sleep in my room, so if I’m in harm’s way, you’d know it immediately.” Eli said. “What? No, I have my duties to the King.” Pitou said. “Then I’ll ask him. Meet me back in my room.” Without explanation, he walked off. He made his way to the throne room. Once again, the King was playing a game with that woman, Komugi. Eli couldn’t believe he hadn’t won a single game yet. “Mr. King.” Eli said. “Yes, Eli?” The King asked. “Pitou is exhausted. She hasn’t slept for days, and she’s still refusing to sleep because of her duties. Do you think you could give her an ‘order,’ to get some rest?” “It’s always been Pitou’s choice to stay awake with their en for days on end. They can rest whenever they please.” “They know that, but they’re refusing to sleep. However, if they heard that you ordered them to rest, they would.” “Fine. Tell them that I told them to rest.” “Thank you, sir.” Eli said before taking his leave. 

Eli went up to his room, and Pitou was waiting for him there. “Good, you’re back. Now that the King has told you how important my duties are, I will return to—” “Actually, he ordered you to rest.” Eli said, interrupting Pitou. “What!?” They obviously weren’t expecting that. “Yep. It’s official. You have to go to sleep now.” “Alright, fine.” They went over to the chair by the desk and sat down. “What are you doing?” Eli asked. “Going to sleep?” “You’re not sleeping in the chair!” “Then where do I sleep?” “On the bed.” Eli said. “And where are you going to sleep?” “On the bed.” Eli repeated. 

“You… want us to share the bed?” Pitou asked. “Yeah.” Eli said. He didn’t think much of it. “But… I don’t believe that bed was meant for two…” Pitou said, but that wasn’t the real reason they were hesitant. “Come on, Pitou. I’m chest height to you. There’s plenty of room.” “If… if you say so.” “I’ll let you sleep on the outside so the sun can wake you up.” “Okay.” Eli got on the bed first, then Pitou lied down next to him. They had their backs to each other. Eli did it out of respect, while Pitou did it out of shyness, an emotion that Pitou was rather unfamiliar with. “Goodnight, Pitou.” Eli said. “Goodnight… Eli.” Pitou said. They fell asleep in seconds.


	13. Heavy Handed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Eli's birthday, and Neferpitou contemplates how to celebrate such an occasion. They are unfamiliar with such things, but they quickly come up with an idea that could make Eli's birthday quite happy. They gather their fellow elites and Cheetu in the King's throne room to give Eli his gift, but a certain parasite has other ideas.

# Chapter 13: Heavy Handed

Pitou had rested quite well that night, better than they ever had before. It was one of the few nights where Pitou actually slept for the entire night. Pitou had rested so peacefully that Eli had managed to sneak out of the bed without waking them. They woke up two hours after sunrise. They stretched out, feeling satisfied from a good night’s rest. They were surprised to see that Eli wasn’t there. Pitou went out to the balcony, but Eli wasn’t there either. They looked out into the palace courtyard and it was there that Pitou could see Eli. When Pitou saw the boy, they thought about yesterday. Today was Eli’s birthday, a day to be celebrated. Pitou knew that they couldn’t just throw a party for Eli, seeing as to how they were in a war, but they knew that they could at least give him a present. “The best present for him would be freedom. Today is the day that we free him from that parasite.” Pitou thought to themselves. Pitou left the watch tower and gathered the others. 

Eli quietly sat in the courtyard, working on his ability. He was drawing sketches of what the different aspects would look like, along with short descriptions of how it worked. Eli was creating an ability that was also versatile, something that could be used in multiple different situations. Eli didn’t know much about fighting, but he knew that you always had to be ready for anything. You had to be ready for any situation and for every fighting style. He took that into account while crafting his ability. He was starting to make some finishing touches when Pitou came up behind him. “Eli.” They said. “Oh, Pitou. You’re awake. I’m surprised you slept this late.” He said. “Yeah… you were right, I needed the rest. I feel great!” “Good to hear.” “Hey, me and the others have something to show you.” “What is it?” “It’s a surprise.” Pitou said with a smile. “A surprise?” “Yes. Now come on.” Eli stood up and began following Pitou. 

They came to the King’s throne room, though the King was not present. Pouf, Youpi and Cheetu were waiting for the two. “Hey everyone.” Eli said. “Hey Eli. Happy birthday.” Cheetu said. “Thanks man.” Cheetu walked over to Eli while Pitou walked over to the other two elites. “Say, Eli. I’ve been thinking about your offer to go to your island.” Cheetu said. “And?” Eli asked. “Before I make a decision, I want to know what the island’s like.” 

“Oh? Okay, well… I’ve heard that the island was once called, ‘The Backwards Place.’” “The what?” “’The Backwards Place.’ It was called that because of the weird environment. The island gets warmer the further north you go, and it gets colder the further south you go. The southern tip of the island is a tundra, while my village towards the center of the island is in a warm forest.” “Wow… that’s pretty crazy.” Eli could tell that there was a reason Cheetu was keeping him distracted. Pouf, Pitou and Youpi were talking to each other behind Eli, and Cheetu’s gaze would occasionally fall on Shroud. This was a plan to get rid of Shroud, and Eli knew it, so he went along and pretended not to notice the others. “Are there any hazards I should know about?” Cheetu asked. “Well, when you’re around my village, try not to fall into any holes.” Eli said. “What does that mean?” “There are a few holes in the forest surrounding my village. It turns out that the ground there is hollow. There’s an entire glade underneath it, but there’s also a lot of really dangerous creatures down there. They almost killed me…” “Wow. Any people I should know about?” Cheetu asked, trying to keep the conversation going. 

“The Wise One, Amelia. She knows lots of things. She’s the only one in my village that isn’t infected with a parasite.” Eli said. “How did she avoid that?” “When she was born, she was put into a glass chamber. I’m not sure why, but the Shades can’t get inside.” “Does she have nen abilities then?” “I think so. She can see into the future, or something like that.” “She can?” Cheetu asked in surprise. “Yeah, it’s how I found out about you guys.” Eli said. “Okay, cool…” Cheetu said. It was obvious that he was running out of things to talk about, so Pouf and Pitou stepped in. 

“Hello, Eli.” Pouf said. “Oh, Pouf. You’re actually acknowledging me without me having to make the first move.” “Hmph… I was just being respectful because everyone else in the room likes you. I wouldn’t be kind to a human like you.” Pouf said, but Eli knew he didn’t mean it; he was just acting tough. “C’mon, Pouf. Admit it, you like me.” Eli said with a smile. “Well… I don’t hate you.” “Aw, love you too buddy.” Eli said sarcastically. Pouf turned in a failed attempt to hide a tiny smile. “Well, now that we’re all here, it’s time for your present, Eli.” Pitou said cheerfully. “My present?” Eli asked. 

“Yes. Is everyone ready?” Pitou asked. “Ready.” Said everyone else. “Ready for what?” Eli asked. “Now!” Cheetu shouted. Suddenly, Youpi swung toward Eli, trying to strike Shroud. Shroud caught Youpi’s fist just before it made contact, but that’s what they were planning. Youpi sprouted several more arms and grabbed the rest of Shroud’s tendrils. Pouf and Cheetu grabbed onto Eli’s arms, and Pitou wrapped their arms around his torso. They all started pulling in an attempt to rip Shroud off of Eli. The force of it all was causing immense pain to the boy. He shouted on instinct. “Hold on Eli! We’ll get this thing off of you!” Youpi called to reassure Eli. “Don’t stop… no matter what!” Said Eli. He could feel Shroud severing. 

This wasn’t about making the King stronger anymore. This wasn’t about gaining the power needed to win a war. This was about freeing an innocent boy from his horrific captor. They were making progress, as there was space between Shroud and Eli’s shoulder now. Eli was starting to get hopeful, but Shroud had a way out. Shroud suddenly let out a loud shriek. It was ear piercing, and it hit Eli’s four friends like a truck. They tried to hold out, tried to keep pulling, but their bodies moved on their own, and on instinct they all covered their ears, letting go of Shroud and Eli. 

That’s when something horrific happened. Eli had been knocked out, and due to this, Shroud had an unrestricted flow of nen. With it, he was able to fuel his power. Shroud began to grow larger, and several tendrils wrapped around Eli, leaving almost his entire body covered. Shroud’s body was beginning to take on a different appearance. A large, circular main body was held up high above the ground by several tendrils that were as big around as trees. Shroud’s body had grown exponentially, and he towered above the four Chimera Ants around him. “Dear God…” Cheetu said. Shroud let out a horrific roar that bellowed throughout the palace. 

It then attacked. It swung several tendrils around, crashing into everything in an attempt to kill anyone close. Youpi was able to grab one of the tendrils, but only for a brief moment. Shroud lifted him high into the air and slammed Youpi into the ground, leaving him stunned and smashing a crater into the stone floor. Pouf attempted to fly around Shroud and see if there were any openings, but Shroud simply swatted him out of the air. Cheetu tried running for Eli to see if he could wake him up, but Shroud caught him then threw him into one of the stone walls, knocking the wind out of him. Pitou tried to go with Cheetu’s idea. They knew that Eli could restrict the flow of nen if he woke back up. Pitou was able to dodge a few of the tendrils, sliding under them and jumping over them, but Shroud eventually caught Pitou. Shroud then picked them up and started bringing them toward his dagger filled mouth. 

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling completely helpless, Pitou called out, “Eli!” in a terrified shriek. That was enough to rouse Eli. He woke up and acted quickly. He restricted the flow of nen to Shroud, almost cutting it off completely. Shroud wasn’t able to sustain his more powerful form, so he was forced to go back to the smaller parasitic form. Eli stood up and looked at what had happened. He saw Youpi, just barely conscious, freeing himself from the rubble. He saw Cheetu at the wall attempting to get up, but he was forced to stop due to the pain. He saw Pouf, struggling to stand up not far from him, and he saw Pitou right in front of him. They were trying to catch their breath, as Shroud nearly crushed them. 

Eli was horrified by the scene. “I’m… I’m sorry, I… I’m so… I’m so sorry.” Eli said. “Eli.” Pitou said, but Eli almost didn’t hear it. He ran away, not able to face the terror. “Eli!” Pitou said. They were about to run after him, but Cheetu said, “Wait… he needs… he needs time. Just give him a minute to himself.” “But I—” “He’ll get you when he’s ready, but we’re in bad shape right now.” “I… right.” Pitou said before checking on the wounds of their brothers. 

Eli ran back to his room and locked himself in. He didn’t want to see anyone… he didn’t want to hurt anyone else. He knew that as long as he was around, everyone was in danger. “Damn it… damn you Shroud!” He mumbled. “Why? Why can’t you just leave me be? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Eli could feel that Shroud was amused by his groveling. “Why me? Why does it have to be me?” He cursed his life; the life of pain and suffering. “I can never have anyone… because of you!” He hated Shroud with everything he had. Because of Shroud, nobody dared to be Eli’s friend. Eli had no one, and when he finally did make friends, Shroud nearly killed them. Eli wanted, with everything he had, Shroud to just drop dead. Eli was not familiar with hate. Never in his life did he ever consider hating anyone, but that changed. “You bastard… you bastard…” Eli muttered to himself. 

Throughout the day, Pouf, Youpi, Cheetu and Pitou tried to reach Eli. He refused to let anyone into his room. They would knock on the door, but they’d only be met with Eli saying, “Go away…” in a defeated tone. Eli couldn’t stomach his existence anymore. He couldn’t stand himself just as much as he couldn’t stand Shroud. Eli hadn’t come down from his room for several hours, and the sun was beginning its decent into the horizon. Since Eli hadn’t come down, it was obvious that he hadn’t eaten or even drunk anything. Pitou and Cheetu both made something for Eli, following a recipe book as closely as they could. 

Once it was ready, Pitou jumped up to the watch tower with the food and a bottle of water. They looked into the dark room and saw Eli curled up in a ball in the corner. “Hey, Eli. How are you?” Pitou asked with a shaky voice. Eli was completely silent. “I, um… me and Cheetu made you something. We thought you’d be hungry… you hadn’t come down to eat, so I decided to bring it to you.” Pitou said with a smile. The smile fell like iron in water when Eli still didn’t speak. Pitou stepped forward, their foot crossing the threshold into the room. Eli suddenly shot up and yelled, “Stop!” Pitou stopped and took a step back. “Just… just leave it outside, okay!?” Eli shouted. He said it with far more anger than intended. Pitou swallowed, feeling a knot forming in their throat. They set down the food then moved toward the edge of the balcony. Before jumping away, they took one last look at Eli. His face was obscured by the darkness, and he was turned away, not wanting to face Pitou. Pitou turned away and left, but not before placing Eli’s thermos on the railing. 

The thermos caught Eli’s eye. He rushed over to it and grabbed it. He opened it up, finding that it was totally empty. Pitou had eaten it all. For a brief moment, that brought a smile to Eli’s face, but ultimately it faded away as he began to cry. He knew now what he needed to do. He cared for Pitou and their siblings, more than he ever cared about anyone ever before. He was worried sick about the impending attack on the palace, but he was even more worried about what Shroud’s strength could do. He was worried that Shroud would kill his friends at any moment. Shroud saw them as a threat now, so he wouldn’t care about their death… he’d yearn for their death. Eli knew that as long as he was around, everyone in the palace was in danger. So, he could only come to one conclusion… he had to leave. He dwelled on this thought as he took the food that Cheetu and Pitou prepared for him. He ate it, and its wonderful taste made what had to be done so much harder. 

The next day, the other human, Komugi, was making her way to the King’s throne room to begin another game with him, but she heard something that gave her pause. She heard soft and restrained weeps. It sounded like someone was crying, but was trying their hardest to stop themselves. Komugi followed the noise to its source. Komugi was of course blind, but that didn’t stop her from getting around places. She made her way into a vacant room. Pitou was the source of the noise. “Hello?” Komugi said to find out who it was. “Oh! Komugi… wh-what are you doing here? Did you get lost?” Pitou asked, trying to bring attention away from themselves. “No, I didn’t get lost. Was that… was that you crying?” Komugi asked. “What? Me, crying? No, no, I-I wasn’t crying.” It was an obvious lie. 

“What are you doing in this room alone then?” Komugi asked. “I… I…” Pitou was thinking of something to say to get out of this, but it was very obvious that Komugi wasn’t buying it. Pitou sat down with a sigh and said, “I was crying.” “I’ve never known you to be very emotional, Lord Pitou.” Komugi said. “It’s… it’s nothing. You should go and see the King. I’m sure he’s ready for another game.” Pitou said, again trying to avoid the conversation. “With all due respect, Lord Pitou, the Supreme Leader can wait. Tell me, what has you so upset?” “Well… you’ve no doubt noticed that boy, Eli, who’s been around the palace.” “Yes, I have. He seems nice.” “He is… he’s very nice.” Pitou said with a smile. “What’s wrong then?” “You see… he has a monster attached to him. It feeds off of him. We tried to get it off of him yesterday, but it attacked us. We all got hurt, and when we were trying to separate Eli and the creature, it caused Eli so much pain. I’m worried… I’m worried that Eli hates me now… or worse… that he’s afraid of me.” 

Komugi reached over and took Pitou’s hand. “Pitou… you think fondly of him, don’t you?” She asked. “I… I do. He’s the only one who has ever truly cared about me.” “It’s deeper than that, isn’t it?” “Well… when I’m around him… I always feel so strange.” “Strange how?” “Well… like… like I could do anything. He makes me feel stronger, and…” Pitou didn’t finish. “And what?” Komugi asked, chasing Pitou’s thoughts. “And warm… safe.” Pitou said with a smile. 

Even though Komugi was blind, she could tell that there was a smile on Pitou’s face. “I think you should talk to him. You should try to chase this feeling.” Komugi said. “I… I want to, but he’s locked himself in his room, and he’s refused to see anyone. Pouf and Youpi have tried, and so has one of our soldiers, Cheetu. They became close friends while he was here. Eli… has refused to eat too.” Pitou said. “You should try.” “I have, believe me. He’s just too afraid. He won’t let me get anywhere near him.” “I’m sorry, Pitou.” “That’s kind of you to say… I should return to my duties. I’m much more focused now. Thank you, Komugi.” Pitou said as they stood up and left the room. Komugi made their way to the King for another game. 

The day went on, passing by in a blink. Night soon came, and the stars littered the sky, lighting up the entire palace. Eli was gathering his things, stuffing his bag with all of his possessions. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulders. He left his room and headed out into the palace halls. He took a look around, making sure nobody would see him. Seeing that the coast was clear, Eli started moving for the exit to the palace. As Eli was leaving, Komugi happened to have finished her games with the King for the day. Eli saw her on his way to the exit, but he thought that because she was blind, he could just slip past her without her knowing. He hadn’t even gotten closer to her before she realized he was there. “Eli? Is that you?” She asked. Eli, being the polite boy that he was, answered her. “Y-yeah… it’s me.” He said. “What are you doing out here?” “Uh… what are you doing?” Eli asked, trying to redirect. “You and Pitou are both terrible at avoiding subjects.” “I… yeah.” “What are you doing?” Komugi asked once more. 

Eli didn’t want to tell her, but he relented and said, “I’m leaving.” “Leaving!?” Komugi asked. “Yes… I am. I have a monster hanging over me. It attacked Pitou, the other elites and Cheetu. While I’m here, they are all in danger. You too.” “That’s why you’ve been avoiding them?” “Yes. I don’t want this curse of mine to hurt them. It’s for their own good that I leave.” “Pitou has the wrong idea then.” “What do you mean?” Eli asked. “Pitou thinks you’re avoiding him and the others because you’re angry with them.” “What!?” Eli said. “That’s not the case, is it?” “No, it’s not…” Eli groaned as he buried his face in his hands. “What will you do now?” Komugi asked. 

Eli was torn. He wanted to keep the others safe, and he didn’t want a reason to stay, but he didn’t want Pitou to think that he hated them. “I have to make things right with her. I need to talk to her.” Eli said. Komugi smacked Eli on the head with her cane. “That’s right! You talk with her, and don’t stop talking until everything is clear.” She said. “Yes ma’am.” Eli said as he ran off. Komugi then realized something Eli said. “Wait, ‘she?’ Pitou’s a woman?” Komugi asked. “She’s both!” Eli shouted as he ran off. “Oh my!” Komugi said to herself. 

Eli went back to his room. He was ready to talk to Pitou, but he needed to do something first. He got a lantern and lit it and placed it above his desk. He lied his journal flat on the table, and at the page after his notes on his ideas for an ability, he wrote a message. Once he was done, he stepped out to the balcony and looked up to the center of the palace. He could see Pitou at their usual perch. “Pitou!” He yelled. Pitou looked over immediately and saw Eli waiting for them. Pitou, without the slightest bit of hesitation, made their way to Eli. They gracefully jumped onto the balcony with Eli and stood in front of him. 

Eli immediately wrapped his arms around Pitou and began crying as he frantically said, “I’m so sorry! Komugi told me how you felt, she told me how I made you feel, and I want you to know that it’s not true! I don’t hate you, Pitou, I could never, ever hate you!” “Eli…” Pitou said softly. “It was so stupid of me to just lock myself in my room and ignore all of you! I didn’t know how much I was hurting you, and there’s no excuse for that!” “Eli.” Eli still didn’t listen. “I was afraid of myself! I was afraid of Shroud! I thought if I left, you’d all be safe, but that wasn’t fair to any of you!” “Eli!” Pitou said with a firm tone. Eli finally looked up to Pitou. He saw a smile on their face, along with a trail of tears. “I’ve already forgiven you.” They said. Eli smiled and hugged them even tighter, like he was never going to let go. 

Pitou wrapped their arms around Eli in a hug as well, and they remained like this for quite some time. Once they were both satisfied, they let go. “You were going to leave?” Pitou asked. “Yeah, I was… but not anymore! I realize how stupid that is now.” “Why?” Pitou asked. “Well… I thought that if I was gone, I would be protecting all of you… but I was just hurting all of you.” “Don’t worry. We’re not going to let some parasite hurt us, not anymore. And we’re especially not going to let it hurt you anymore.” “You’re all so kind now.” Eli said proudly. “You taught us well.” 

“My original goal when I came here was to just get rid of Shroud and free my people… but that’s not just it anymore.” Eli said. “What’s your goal now?” “I want your kind and humanity to get along. I want you both to live alongside each other.” Pitou looked away and shook their head. “Do you really think that could happen?” Pitou asked. “I’m an optimist, what can I say? What’s wrong with wanting you and humans to get along?” “Eli… I have killed and eaten a lot of people… innocent people that were just… minding their own business… they never did anything to me, but I… I killed them. What life could I possibly have?” 

Eli got a smile on his face, which was already enough to surprise Pitou, but then he said, “Picture this: We go somewhere, we just get somewhere far away from all of this. All of the killing, the Hunters, the King, the war, all of it. We find a city, a place with kind, open minded people who don’t mind having a non-human citizen and their overly optimistic friend living there. We set up a diner, and we cook together. We make delicious food for people from all over the town, and tourists and couriers who are just passing through. We get so many return customers that we start remembering their names the moment they walk in. We even memorize what their orders are and have it ready before they even open their mouths. We’ll even have a little brown cat roaming around to greet people and make sure they’re having a good time. We’ll name him Peanut, and people will think it’s a little weird that a part-cat-part-human hybrid has a pet cat, but they look past it because it’s so adorable. Because of all this, we get known around town, and people come to us for good food and good times, and the people love us just as much as we love them.” 

Pitou was completely dumbfounded. They hadn’t a clue on what to say. “Eli… what… what the hell are you talking about?” Pitou asked with a laugh. “I don’t know, but I got you to laugh, didn’t I?” Pitou smiled and said, “You did… Eli, do you think a life like that is possible for someone like me?” “Pitou. Those killings were from a person that didn’t know right from wrong. You aren’t that person anymore. You still have this entire new life ahead of you. You have all the time in the world to make things right. So, yes,” Eli said as he took Pitou’s hands and held them gently in his. “I think that a life like that is possible.” 

They looked each other in the eyes, and felt each other soften. They leaned in close to one another, their bodies taking control. They were close to one another, but before any action could be made, a flash of light in the distance interrupted them. Pitou and Eli suddenly looked to the source of the light. “What’s that?” Eli asked worriedly. “It’s an attack!” Pitou exclaimed. “What do we do?” “You need to get somewhere safe, now!” Pitou perched onto the stone railing and prepared to leap toward the approaching enemy. “Wait… Komugi was on her way to her room!” Eli said. “Go, get her. Keep her safe. We’ll deal with the enemy!” Before hearing a response from Eli, they leapt through the air, speeding off like a bullet. Eli rushed out of his room and towards Komugi’s room. All the while, he had the feeling that the worst-case scenario was about to come into reality.


	14. End of Optimism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's happened; the Hunters have begun their attack on the Palace of Gorteau. Neferpitou has launched themselves at the enemy in an attempt to protect both the King and Eli. Meanwhile, Eli has run off to protect Komugi, who is completely defenseless to the coming chaos. He only hopes that it's not too late, but in the darkest part of his heart he fears the worst is about to happen.

# Chapter 14: End of Optimism

Eli made it to Komugi’s room just in time. He burst into the room. “Who’s there!?” Komugi asked in surprise. Shroud was becoming irritated. There was an attack coming, and he knew it. Eli rushed over to Komugi and said, “Get down!” Eli then got Komugi to the ground and shielded her with his own body. After that, several strange projectiles that looked like small, glowing dragons broke through the ceiling. They rained down from above, breaking anything and anyone who was unlucky enough to get hit by one. A few broke through the ceiling to Komugi’s room. They nearly hit Eli and the woman, but Shroud knocked them away with his tendrils. He frantically swatted the air, effectively making a protective barrier, defending both Eli and Komugi. After a few minutes of chaos, the volley stopped. Eli got off of Komugi and took a look at her to make sure she didn’t get hurt. “Komugi! Are you okay!?” He asked. She was fine, other than a few scrapes here and there. “I’m fine, thank you. What’s happening?” Komugi asked. “The palace is under attack.” “Under attack!? Is the Supreme Leader okay?” “Supreme Leader? You mean the King? I don’t know if he’s okay. I came straight to here to keep you safe.” “That’s very kind of you.” “Think nothing of it.” 

Just then, the King came rushing into the room. “Komugi!” He shouted. He ran over to Komugi and Eli, and kneeled down next to them. “Komugi, are you alright?” He asked. “I’m fine, thanks to Eli.” Komugi said. “Good. Thank you, Eli. You have my gratitude.” The King said with a sigh of relief. It seemed that the King had become attached to Komugi, just as Pitou had become attached to Eli. “It was no problem. Where’s Pitou? And the others?” Eli asked. “Pitou has been blown away.” “What!?” Eli shouted in fear. “They’re alive. They were knocked away from the palace.” “Okay… what about the others?” “I’m not sure. I came straight to here. I just happened to see Pitou on my way.” “Okay… okay, uh… I’ll go out and help if I can.” Eli said. “You’ll help? Eli, Shroud is too unpredictable, he may do more harm than good.” “I have to try!” “Please remain here, Eli. Shroud is more dependable if you remain here to defend Komugi.” “But the others—” “Please, Eli. It would set my mind at ease knowing that Komugi was safe with you.” This gave Eli pause for a moment, but he hesitantly nodded. 

Just then, two elder men, humans, walked into the room. They silently looked on at the three. Eli looked at them, both angry and afraid of their actions and their power. Eli could tell that they were strong, maybe as strong as the King. Eli, on instinct, moved in front of Komugi to shield her. “So, you are the ones spear-heading this invasion?” The King asked. “Bold of you to talk about invasions like that. It’s to my understanding that you attacked this poor country and killed off its ruler, claiming yourself to be the new ruler.” Said one of the two elders. The one speaking was wearing some kind of t-shirt and shorts. Not attire you’d expect in a battle. The other sported long robes. “What do you want?” The King asked. “We both know how this must end. I suggest we go somewhere else, that way nobody else is in harm’s way.” The man with the t-shirt said. “Very well. I will go with you, as long as you can ensure Komugi’s safety. Your forces are not to hurt her.” The King demanded. “Very well.” The elder said. 

Right then, Pitou showed up at the upper window of the room. She jumped down and looked at the scene. “Eli! Your Highness!” They said. “We’re fine, Pitou.” The King said. They looked at the two men, and they didn’t like the way things looked. “What’s going on?” Pitou asked. “We were just leaving.” The King said as he walked toward the two men. “What!? Your Highness, I don’t think—” “It’s not for you to decide, Pitou. While I’m gone, I need you and Eli to protect Komugi.” The King said. Pitou hesitantly said, “Yes, your Highness.” They bowed as he left. “This is so stupid.” Eli said. “I know… but the King’s orders are final.” Pitou said. “I know that, but… I just don’t like this situation.” “Neither do I. Still, we have to remain here to defend Komugi. Are you hurt?” “No, I’m fine. Shroud knocked away all of the projectiles.” Eli said. “That’s good. Are you okay, Komugi?” Pitou asked. “I’m okay.” Komugi said. “Good… we should get her somewhere—” Pitou suddenly cut themselves off with a gasp. Two more of the Hunters walked in. To Eli’s dismay, one of them was Gon, the one person he was hoping to keep away from Pitou. 

Eli could see the rage in his eyes; the pure hatred. He wanted Pitou dead, and he would stop at nothing to achieve that goal. “Stay back!” Pitou ordered. They quickly got in front of Komugi and Eli to defend them. “Pitou…” Gon said. The three could feel the pure hatred coming off of him. “Don’t come any closer.” Pitou said in a frightened voice. Gon didn’t listen. He kept moving closer. Eli stepped in. He stood in front of Pitou and Komugi, much to the surprise of Gon and Killua. 

Eli held up his arms and said, “You won’t hurt them. I won’t let you.” Gon couldn’t believe what was happening. He hated Pitou, more than anything. He looked for every reason to hate them, but Eli stepping up to defend them shook Gon. “No… no! That’s not fair! It’s not fair!” Gon said as he began punching the ground in frustration, leaving several cracks in the stone. “Life is rarely fair, my friend.” Eli said. Killua watched on, not sure what to make of this himself. “Why? Why do you want Pitou dead so badly? If this was about the people they killed in the past, that’s one thing, but this is personal. So, tell me, what made you so angry?” “It hurt my friend! I need them to fix Kite!” Gon shouted. “Pitou… can this, Kite, be fixed?” Eli asked. “I… no… he’s already dead.” Pitou said. Gon’s eyes went wide. “No, I don’t believe that! You’re lying!” Gon shouted. 

He glared at Eli with fury in his eyes. “Don’t do this.” Eli said. “Pitou killed Kite!” Gon said. “That’s right. Lord Pitou killed your friend.” Pitou looked on in surprise. “But Lord Pitou is gone. In their place is Lady Nef.” Killua looked on, still uncertain of this whole situation. “No! I’ll kill them! I’ll kill Pitou!” Gon said. “You’ll have to go through me.” Eli said. Gon looked over to Pitou and Komugi. He saw how Pitou was protecting the young woman. “If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll kill all three of you.” “Pitou…” Eli said. Pitou tore their eyes away from Gon and looked at Eli. “Get Komugi out of here.” Eli said. “But, Eli—” “Get her to safety!” Gon went for Pitou, but Eli quickly caught him and tried to hold him back. For a young boy, his strength was immense, far beyond Eli’s. Eli stopped him for a brief moment, but it was enough for Pitou to leap up to the window with Komugi and escape. 

Gon punched Eli in the face, busting his lip open. Shroud reacted immediately, swatting at Gon and knocking him out of the room. “Gon!” Killua called as he rushed over to Gon. Eli slowly stood up and felt his jaw, making sure it wasn’t broken. “That was a good punch.” Eli said as he readjusted himself. He shook his head to focus again before walking out of the room. Gon and Killua were already gone. Eli looked around and saw them chasing after Pitou in the distance. “That’s not good.” Eli said. Just before he could do anything, there was suddenly an explosion that came from the palace. It rattled Eli’s bones and caused the whole area to quake. “That’s even worse!” Eli shouted. He couldn’t help at the palace, there were too many to deal with and too little time. He was getting ready to jump over the edge of the palace to the ground to go after Gon and Killua, but something else caught his eye. 

In the opposite direction, he saw Cheetu approaching one of the elders that had attacked the palace, the robed one. “What the hell is he doing!?” Eli said to himself. It looked like Cheetu was looking for a fight, but there was no way he was going to survive a battle with that man, and Eli knew that. He made a decision. He jumped off of the wall, Shroud catching him by piercing his tendrils into the stone. Eli got his footing then began running toward Cheetu. Once he was getting close, Eli spotted another hazard. There was something coming from the sky, like a comet, and it was heading right for Cheetu. Eli managed to get to him just in time. He ran at Cheetu at full speed then tackled him, just barely getting him out of the way of the second attacker. The second assailant collided with the ground, creating a force that knocked both Cheetu and Eli away. 

They were sent tumbling away, falling over one another. Once they finally stopped, Eli stood up and looked to Cheetu. “What the hell are you doing!?” He shouted. “I was looking for a good fight.” Cheetu said. Eli punched Cheetu on instinct. “What in the actual hell is wrong with you!? You see the devastation that guy caused, you’ve seen how much of the palace he’s destroyed with his attack! You honestly think, YOU HONESTLY THINK you stand a chance against him!?” Cheetu just looked on in shock. He was covering his nose, a steady stream of violet blood seeping out. “Your brothers are still in the palace fighting for their lives! And you are out here just for a challenge!? Some fun!?” Eli screamed. Cheetu began to feel ashamed of himself. 

Eli was about to lecture him more, but something caught the corner of his eye. The watch tower where Eli’s room was had caught fire. Eli remembered the lantern he left in his room. The first attack must have knocked it over. “No… no! No!” Eli shouted. “What’s wrong?” Cheetu asked. “My room is on fire!” “We have bigger problems.” Eli turned to the two assailants. The second one was a large man, towering above the small boy. His skin was pale, his hair was nearly white, and his eyes looked… inhuman. “Who are you?” Eli asked. “You haven’t heard of the Zoldyk family of assassins?” The elder asked. “I’ve hardly heard of anything from this world. I come from a village in the middle of nowhere.” Eli said. “This is the boy that’s piqued Netero’s interest?” The younger man asked. “Yes. That creature on his shoulder is a very curious thing.” The elder said. Shroud felt that these two were a possible threat and became agitated. “Should we test it, and see just what’s so special about it?” The younger man asked. “The boy looks like he’s ready to attack us anyway.” The elder said. 

The two channeled their nen, creating an ominous presence. “Don’t worry Eli, I’ve got your back!” Cheetu said confidently. “No, I need you to go to my room and recover something.” Eli said. “What? No way! I’m staying here to help you!” “No. I need you to get my journal. There’s something in it that is incredibly important!” “What is it?” “Hopefully you won’t need to know, but… Cheetu, if I don’t make it—” “No, don’t say stuff like that.” “Cheetu, this is important!” Eli shouted. Cheetu went quiet and listened. “Cheetu, if I… if I die, then make sure my journal gets to Pitou. She ran into the forest to protect Komugi, but two of the Hunters are after them. When you get my journal, get to her, don’t come back to help me!” 

“I… I understand, but… you’d better not die, okay? Who else is going to introduce me to everyone on your island?” Cheetu asked with a smile. “I’m sorry, Cheetu… I wish I could make that promise, but I can’t.” Cheetu went quiet, but he understood. He rushed back toward the palace, and was out of sight in the blink of an eye. Eli turned back to the two assassins. “Now… we were about to fight, right?” Eli said. He turned his right side to them, using Shroud as a kind of shield. Shroud extended his tendrils in preparation of the attack. 

Cheetu had gotten through half of the palace in no time. There was a massive cloud of smoke towards the center of the palace, which had been devastated in the blast earlier. It looked like a massive explosion had gotten frozen in time. “That guy…” Cheetu said. He was referring to one of the Hunters, Morel. Morel was a manipulator type nen user. He carried around a large smoking pipe, almost as big as his own body. He used this pipe to create smoke, which he then manipulated to create things such as soldiers, scouts, clones, and in this case, massive obstacles, such as the large dome of smoke that now covered most of the area where the center of the palace used to be. 

Morel’s smoke didn’t behave like normal smoke. It was nearly impossible to escape it, as it was more solid and rigid, like stone. Cheetu ran over to the dome to see what was happening. Just outside of the dome was Pouf. “Cheetu?” Pouf said. “Oh, Pouf. What are you doing?” Cheetu asked. “I’m currently in a battle with the smoke user.” “Is that what you call standing outside of a dome of smoke?” “These are just my clones you’re speaking to. My main body is inside the dome, hiding. I’m keeping the Hunter distracted so Youpi stands a better chance against the others. What are you up to?” “Eli asked me to grab something from his room. He said it was really important.” “Then what are you doing talking to me? Go and get it. If Eli says it’s important, then it must be. He’s a smart boy.” “You realize you just complimented a human, right?” “Just go! The room is on fire!” “Right!” Cheetu said, and he quickly rushed to Eli’s room. 

He made his way inside, the heat nearly sending him back down. Cheetu endured and moved through the flames, grabbing a nearby rag to breathe through. He spotted the journal on the desk. The flames had reached it, and some of the pages were being burned. Cheetu quickly grabbed it before the whole thing could catch on fire. He put out the embers and inspected the journal. A good amount of it had been burned, but it was mostly okay. Cheetu held the journal tight and started running back toward the outskirts. Before he left, he noticed that the smoke cloud had disappeared. He rushed back over to see if Pouf had gotten away unharmed. “Hey, Pouf! I got the thing Eli wanted me to get!” Cheetu called, but he got no response. “Pouf? Did you… did you get the smoke guy?” He asked. He was beginning to get worried. “Hey, Pouf? Where are—” He stopped when he felt his foot touch something wet. His hair stood up on edge as he looked down. There, on the cold stone floor, was Pouf’s main body. It had been crushed, nearly unrecognizable. “Oh, God…” Cheetu said in a startled whisper. “He… he’s dead?” He looked around, believing that maybe this was just one of his drones that the smoke user happened to kill. “Pouf, come on, man. That’s not funny! Just… just come out, okay!?” Cheetu shouted, but again, he got no answer. Cheetu became terrified. “No… no…” 

He took off once more towards the forest. On his way out, he stopped again when he saw Youpi battling all of the remaining Hunters. He was getting overwhelmed. The smoke user was there, using his smoke to blind Youpi while also making identical clones of another one of the Hunters; the same one that placed some sort of curse on Cheetu. The curse had now been placed on Youpi. It was a small flying creature that would begin following you if you got hit by him. There was a meter on its fore-head that would continue to count up, and each time the numbers increased, the creature would increase in size. The numbers would increase quicker if you used nen or get hit by the user. 

The creature had already grown immense, and Cheetu had no idea what would happen if it got big enough. Cheetu looked down at the journal in his hands and remembered what Eli had asked him, but then he looked at Youpi and thought about the trouble he was in. Before Cheetu could make a decision on who to go after first, the nen curse’s true ability activated. It turned into some kind of demonic cat. It latched onto Youpi, and all of his power seemed to suddenly leave him. Cheetu saw his state of weakness and rushed toward him in an attempt to help. By the time Cheetu got close, they had already finished Youpi, his body lying lifeless on the ground. Another Hunter appeared, the portal maker, and used his powers to separate Youpi’s head from his body. “No…” Cheetu mumbled. The Hunters turned and saw Cheetu. Cheetu knew he had no hope of beating them, so he ran as fast as he could. He had to focus on Eli and Pitou now. They were the only ones he had any hope of saving. 

As Cheetu charged out of the palace toward the forest, Eli’s fight with the assassins was reaching a breaking point. The fight had been brutal and had been going on for some time. Even the assassins were beginning to tire. Shroud showed no signs of stopping, but the assassins’ onslaught was wearing down on Eli. “Come on… is that all you’ve got?” Eli said in an attempt to seem intimidating. The younger one quickly rushed behind Eli and sent out a blast of nen. Eli hadn’t even processed what happened by the time Shroud reacted. Shroud created a shield using his tendrils, taking the full force of the attack. When the attack was through, Shroud swatted at the assassin, just barely missing. 

It was then that the elder assassin realized something. “Stop, don’t attack anymore.” He said to the younger one. “Why?” He asked. They both stood still, not doing a thing. “Hey! We’re not done here!” Eli shouted, trying to antagonize them. It was too late, as the two assassins had realized what Eli was doing. He was keeping them fighting so Shroud would fight back, distracting them and making sure they couldn’t hurt anyone else. Shroud, seeing that the two assassins were no longer fighting, retracted his tendrils. “You see? That thing is feeding off of the boy. It’s protecting him like a wolf protects a fresh kill. As long as we don’t threaten the boy, it won’t attack us, and the boy himself isn’t even strong enough to leave a bruise.” The elder said. “Now, hold on! We’re not done here!” Eli screamed. “Actually, we are. There’s no need to fight us anymore. We’re leaving. Our job here is done. You should focus on going and helping Pitou.” The elder said as the two of them wandered off. 

Eli watched them for a long moment, but the thought of Pitou being in danger brought him back to reality. “Alright… I need to start running if I want to catch those two Hunters.” He started running, but he was only able to take a few steps before Shroud suddenly tripped him. He then wrapped his tendrils around Eli’s legs, making sure he couldn’t stand back up. “Shroud!? What the hell are you doing!?” Shroud saw Gon as a threat, a real threat that could manage to kill both Shroud and Eli. He wasn’t of a stable mind, and he would be ready to do anything to get to Pitou. Killing Eli would give Gon no grief. Shroud didn’t want to let go of his greatest source of food. 

“Let me go!” Eli screamed. Shroud wouldn’t listen. He simply bound Eli, making sure he couldn’t move. “Shroud! She’s in danger!” Eli pleaded. Shroud wanted Pitou to die. They were giving Eli hope, a poison that Shroud couldn’t let Eli have. Eli was thinking of a way out, as his physical strength was too little to fight against Shroud. It was then that Eli realized the one thing he’d never tried in all of his attempts to kill him: giving him what he wanted. “Fine then… you want my nen?” Eli then channeled his nen, building it up as strong as he could. He then forced it all into Shroud. “Choke on it, you gluttonous bastard!” Shroud began to swell up, he couldn’t compensate for the sudden intake of nen. He swelled and grew like a balloon filling with air. Shroud let out a few terrified shrieks, his way of begging for his life. Eli wouldn’t listen, just as Shroud refused to listen to him. Eli didn’t cease his attack, and Shroud reached his end. He exploded, releasing a bright, blinding light. 

The light and the nen grew into a massive bubble of pure energy. The energy released from them grabbed everyone’s attention. Soon after, the massive bubble collapsed and formed a pillar of light that reached high into the sky, like a beacon. It was so powerful that even Shinjo, all the way at the coast, could see it. Everyone turned and saw the light and focused on it solely. The Hunters all stared at the light. “He got the parasite off.” Morel said. Cheetu stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the beam of light. “That’s his nen?” Cheetu asked. Pitou was deep in the forest and looked on at the column of light in the sky. “Eli…” They whispered. After a minute, the column disappeared. Eli was on his hands and knees, exhausted from the sudden expulsion of his nen. He got back up and looked at his hands. He could feel the new power flowing through his body. 

He felt, for the first time in his life, like he was in control. “So, this is what it feels like?” He asked with a shaky breath. “But… I’m not as strong as I should be.” The severance from Shroud had weakened Eli greatly. It was unavoidable. It would take days, potentially, for Eli to get his strength back. If he had to guess, he’d say he was no stronger than Cheetu. So, he would need to be cunning if he hoped to defeat Gon and Killua. “Okay… how do I summon my ability?” Eli asked. Right then, a floating roulette wheel appeared. It was divided into six equal sections. Each section was a different color: Blue, red, green, yellow, white and black. “Oh, it’s that easy?” Eli said to himself. He reached up and spun the wheel. “Okay… give me something good. Give me something I can control.” Eli said with crossed fingers. The wheel spun around, making a wooden clicking noise as it hit the spokes dividing the sections of the wheel. 

After a moment, the wheel came to a stop on the green section. “Yes! Perfect! Let’s see if this works…” The wheel began to glow with a growing green light until the entire structure looked like it was the same color. A strong gust of wind began blowing, and the wheel took on a more abstract shape, covering Eli with the light. Eli’s appearance changed once the light faded. His clothes were different, a bit tighter, but they were meant more for combat. Even his hair changed, as it now was dark green in color. “This’ll do.” Eli said with a smile. He turned toward the forest and got in a runner’s stance. He took off at a speed equal to Cheetu’s. 

He reached the forest in no time at all. He searched the forest to find any signs of the others. He was having issues finding them. “Come on… where are you?” He mumbled. He then remembered the nen technique: en. He was untrained with his nen, but he remembered how Pitou described en. “Okay… I just send out my nen.” He tried to send out his nen in a steady field around himself. It was only able to reach one meter away from himself. “That doesn’t help.” It also didn’t help that this form wasn’t meant for scouting. He tried to think of a way around his gap in training. 

He then got an idea. He built up his nen and released it in a quick burst. It was able to reach much further. The wave of nen, acting like a sonar, collided with something after a few seconds, and a repulse came back and collided with Eli. “There they are.” Eli took off in the direction of the repulse. Eli came to a clearing where the two boys were fighting with Cheetu. Pitou and Komugi were nowhere to be found, so Cheetu must have intercepted the boys before they found them. Cheetu was focused on Gon, hitting him several times, trying to subdue him. He didn’t notice Killua coming up behind him. Killua was covered in electricity, and it appeared that in this state he could move at an exceptionally increased speed. Eli sped towards Killua and tried to strike him, but he saw him coming. Killua quickly moved away from Eli and stood next to Gon. Cheetu and Eli stood together. 

Cheetu was taken back by this new form Eli had. “Eli? Is that you?” He asked. “Yeah, it’s me.” Eli said. “Is this your ability?” “Part of it.” “What?” “There’s no time for that. Do you know where Pitou and Komugi are?” “No. I found these two before I found them.” “Go, find them. Keep them safe.” Eli ordered. “What!? You just got your powers! I can’t leave you to fight these guys alone!” “Go, Cheetu. I’ll be fine.” Eli said, though he wasn’t sure of that. “But—” “Go!” Eli didn’t have much time in his form, it was one of the rules he set for himself. Cheetu took a step away, but turned one final time to look at Eli. “Cheetu, go!” Cheetu left, and was out of sight before a second passed. Eli turned to the two boys. Killua saw Eli as a threat, a potential source of harm, but Gon looked at Eli differently. He saw Eli as an obstacle, one to be destroyed. 

Eli looked to the two boys. He had no intentions of killing them, but he also couldn’t allow them to find Pitou. “So… this nen stuff is pretty overwhelming.” Eli said. The two boys just stared on in silence. “Not ones for conversation, huh? I suppose it makes sense… seeing as to how you both want to kill me.” “You don’t have to die, Eli. Just stay out of our way.” Killua said. “See… you’re giving me a chance because I’m human. That’s how this is working, right? You’ll spare a human, but… a Chimera Ant that’s just trying to protect an innocent woman, well… you’ll kill without remorse then, wouldn’t you?” 

Gon lost his patience and he rushed toward Eli and tried to hit him. Eli simply jumped over him and pushed him down with a great deal of force, causing Gon’s head to smash into the ground. Eli landed on his feet and faced Killua. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I simply can’t let you get to Pitou. I care about her far too much.” He said. “Fine… don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Killua said. He began walking around Eli, but something strange happened. It looked like he suddenly duplicated, as a second image of him appeared and began walking. Soon, several images of Killua were walking circles around Eli. 

“Interesting attack… I’m guessing only one of them is real?” Eli said. Killua didn’t say anything. “Hm… you’re not talking? This technique must take some concentration then.” He looked around at them. All of the images were identical, so he wasn’t going to be able to guess which one was real, but Eli had an attack for a situation like this. “Tell me, Killua. What do you do if your opponent has an attack that affects a wide area?” Eli then rose his foot then stomped on the ground, causing a torrent of wind to push through the surrounding area. It forced the real Killua to be blown away, ending his attack before it began. 

Gon tried to take the opportunity to attack Eli while his back was turned. Gon sent out a projectile made out of nen. Eli managed to see it in time and quickly dodged it. “A projectile? I figured someone like you would like to punch his way out of a fight.” Eli said. Gon looked at Eli with hate in his eyes. “Let me tell you something my dad taught me. If you’re going to kill something,” Eli suddenly sped towards Gon, getting right in his face before he could react. “it ought to be up close and personal!” Eli acted like he was going for a punch, but then suddenly brought up his knee, colliding with Gon’s jaw and sending him into the air. Eli then hit Gon in the belly several times with multiple quick punches. He then grabbed Gon by the head then slammed him into the ground again. “You stay down this time!” Eli shouted. 

Eli then looked back over to Killua. Killua had pulled out a weapon, a rather unconventional one. “What are those?” Eli asked. “Yoyos.” Killua said simply. “You mean… the toy?” “Not the way I use them.” He swung the yoyo at Eli. Eli barely dodged in time, and the toy barely missed his head. Killua had two, and he swung them around with great expertise. “You are pretty good. If I wasn’t as fast as I am now, you’d have definitely beaten me already.” “Do you normally compliment people while you’re fighting them?” “Only if I don’t really want to fight them.” Eli then ran toward Killua. Killua swung both of his yoyos, one high and one low, to catch Eli, but he dove between them and rolled on the ground. He came out of the roll with an uppercut that Killua just barely dodged away from. 

Eli looked at Killua and saw a resemblance to the men he was fighting with earlier. “You… you’re a member of the Zoldyk family, aren’t you?” Eli asked. “Yeah. You met my family?” Killua asked. “Yeah. The old guy who was part of the first attack, and a younger man with creepy eyes.” “That was my father and grandfather. Did you fight?” “Shroud did. They fought until they realized that as long as they didn’t threaten me, Shroud wouldn’t fight.” Eli explained. Gon suddenly charged at Eli again, but Eli got around him then swept his legs out from under him. He then pressed his hand against Gon’s face and slammed him into the ground once more. Gon freed himself and backed off. 

“You are really hard to knock out.” Eli said. He summoned the roulette wheel. The green color had taken up the entire wheel, but was beginning to be taken over by a gray color, like a timer. When the entire wheel was gray, he’d be out of time. Half of his time had already been taken up. “We should speed things along.” Eli said as he dismissed the wheel. “Then get out of our way!” Gon ordered. “Can you honestly say that this is sitting right with you? Do you truly and fully believe still that the Chimera Ants are pure evil?” Eli asked. The two were silent. “You know that they’ve changed, that they’ve softened. You know that they aren’t their old selves anymore. They’ve become so much more, and you can see that… I see it in your eyes.” 

Gon charged at Eli again. He had no time for his words. He came at Eli with several punches, which he simply dodged with his enhanced speed. “Why must you do this?” Eli asked. He gave Gon a straight punch to the face, which had a powerful gust of wind attached to it. It forced Gon back a good distance. Killua stepped in with his yoyo. He swung it at Eli. Eli rose his arm up to block it, and the string wrapped around him. It was then that Eli realized what the material used to make the yoyo was. “It’s metal?” Eli thought. He then remembered Killua’s ability and tried to get the cable off of him, but it was too late. Killua had already sent a surge of electricity through the toy. 

Eli felt immense pain as his whole body convulsed, paralyzing him. Gon saw this as an opportunity. He charged up his ability, a powerful punch capable of devastating almost any target. He got into position and said, “Show me rock.” He began channeling his nen into his fist, as much as he could. The trees and the ground itself began to tremor. “Jan… Ken…” “Gon, what are you doing!?” Killua asked. Gon’s ability was charged, and he shouted, “Rock!” as he swung with all of his strength. The hit collided with Eli’s belly, and with the impact, Eli felt something rupture. A massive amount of blood escaped Eli’s mouth; a lethal amount. Killua stopped his attack and looked on in shock. Had Eli been more seasoned with nen, he would know of a technique nen users use to toughen their bodies using their nen, but unfortunately, Eli didn’t know of this technique, so he took the full force of Gon’s attack. 

Eli fell to one knee and looked to the two boys. His vision blurred, and he could barely see anything. His powers faded, and he reverted back to his original body. To Killua and Gon’s surprise, Eli started laughing. “You… you want to kill her because of her past mistakes… but you… you are no better… than her old self…” Eli said as he laughed, which then turned into a guttural cough, causing more blood to escape his mouth. He fell onto his back and said, “Killing me… simply because… I’m in your way.” The two boys were silent. “Not even going to respond, eh Gon? Well… let me tell you this: you can shield your eyes… you can cover your ears and scream all you want… but it won’t change the fact that deep down… you know that you’re not the Goddamn hero in all of this…” Gon turned away from him and stood, unmoving. “Gon, what are you doing?” Killua asked. “We’ll wait here. If him and Pitou are really that close, then it will come here to get him.” Gon said. He didn’t even bother pretending he still felt anything. “Gon… you want to use him as bait?” Killua said. For the son of an assassin, he was hesitant to do this. “We have to… I will kill Pitou.” 

“Killua…” Eli said with a bloody cough. Killua looked at Eli sideways. “You can’t… you can’t let Gon near Pitou… not just for her sake. He will stop at nothing to kill her… even if it means killing himself and you in the process… if you are really his friend… you’ll get him as far away from here as possible.” Eli meant every word. Gon was going down a dark path. Eli feared what he might become. “Don’t listen to him. His words don’t matter anymore.” Gon said. “He’s right, Gon.” Killua said. Before Gon could turn around to object, Killua hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out. Gon fell limp onto the ground. “Killua… get out of here… if you’re here when Pitou sees me… she’ll go berserk. I don’t want… all of the good I brought out in her to… fade away.” Eli said. Killua nodded then picked up Gon. He was gone in seconds. 

About five minutes after that, Eli heard Cheetu’s voice. “He was over here.” He said. He heard their footsteps get closer and closer. Soon, they emerged from the darkness. Pitou saw Eli and immediately ran to his side. “Eli!” They shouted. “Hey there… Nef. It looks like I wasn’t… strong enough.” Eli said with a smile. Komugi and Cheetu came over. “What’s happening?” Komugi asked. “Eli, he’s… he’s dying.” Cheetu said. “No! Don’t say that! I can fix this! Dr. Bly—” Eli stopped Pitou by taking their hand. “Nef… don’t make this hurt any more than it already does. Based on how much pain I’m in right now… I think my stomach and part of my intestines have ruptured. I’ve… only got a few moments left.” “No, don’t say that! I don’t… I don’t want you to go!” 

Pitou began to cry as they watched helplessly. “I’m afraid I have to… but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.” Eli said. He got a more serious look on his face then. “What?” Pitou asked. “Nef… my ability… wasn’t meant entirely for me.” Eli summoned the wheel again. “My ability… I call it Myriad.” He rose his hand to the wheel, and it suddenly started glowing with a bright, white light. It then took on a different shape. It formed into a necklace, with a tiny version of the wheel attached to the chain. “I’m giving it… to you.” Eli said as he handed the necklace over to Pitou. They took it with a shaky hand. “Wh-… why?” Pitou asked. “There’s a chance that you could fix all of this.” “What do you mean?” “My ability… can fix all of this. I left instructions in my journal. Everything you need to know… is in there, but for now… I need you to promise me something.” 

“Anything.” Pitou said. “One: Never use Terpsichora again, even if it’s to make yourself stronger. The dead deserve to rest, and you can’t grow with that crutch.” “I promise.” “Two: Only kill someone if it’s to protect yourself or someone else, and only if it is the only thing you can do. Don’t just kill someone because it’s the easiest option.” “I promise.” “Now, one last promise… you go to my island, and you’ll find a little girl named Katar. You tell her… you tell her that her big brother died saving lives… okay?” Eli said with tears in his eyes. “I promise!” Pitou said with tears of their own. “Good… now, just one more thing.” He reached up to his head and pulled off the wool cap he had always worn. “I want you to take this.” “Why?” Pitou asked as they held onto it. “Because… you might… get cold.” Eli said with a smile. “No, you should—” Eli’s hand fell limply to the ground, making Pitou freeze. A cold wind blew through the forest, sending a chill down everyone’s spine. “No… no, Eli… no…” Pitou said as they looked on at Eli’s still and lifeless body. 

Pitou lowered their head, hiding their eyes from the others. They stood up and looked down at Eli. “The others… Pouf and Youpi… where are they?” Pitou asked. “They… they’re gone. Pouf’s main body was crushed and Youpi… he got overwhelmed. Neither of them stood a chance.” Cheetu said. “And the King?” Pitou asked without looking away from Eli. “If he was still alive, he would have come for Komugi by now… I have to assume that he’s dead too.” Komugi began crying at that news. Cheetu pulled her closer to comfort her. “I’m sorry, Komugi… I’m sorry, Pitou. I wish I could have done more…” “There was nothing we could have done, Cheetu. They… they went out as they wanted, protecting the King, and Eli went out on his own terms as well.” Pitou said. They put the necklace on, and they could feel Eli’s nen join with theirs. His power was now their power. “Lord Pitou, what do we do now?” Komugi asked. “We leave. There’s nothing left for us here… and it’s Lady Nef now.” Nef said as she put Eli’s hat on, picked up Eli’s body and began walking away. 

## TO BE CONTINUED…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone that has made it to the end of Nen Feaster. First off, I would like to thank you for sticking with this story. This is my first time writing an AU based off of a show that I really enjoyed, and I hope it was to your tastes, and even if it wasn't, that's fine too, I'm still learning, and even negative criticism helps. Don't be shy to give me any feedback! You can comment if you want.
> 
> Now I would like to talk about a few of the aspects of the story itself. As you no doubt noticed, there were a few liberties that I had to take when creating this story, one of the bigger ones being Neferpitou's gender. I'm sure many of you were saying something akin too, "But Neferpitou is clearly a woman." I thought the same when I first experienced the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter X Hunter. However, I was watching the dubbed version of the anime, after I had already watched the subbed, and heard Pitou referred to as a man several times, so I decided to look it up. The Japanese pronouns used for Neferpitou in the manga and anime are primarily used for men, however, these pronouns are also used for less effeminate women (Tomboys). I'm sure you're thinking, "They're clearly a tomboy then," but I don't think it's that simple considering they're a Chimera Ant. I have my own theory, but I'll go into further detail at another time.
> 
> Another detail I took some liberties with is the existence of Eilsar itself. In the Hunter X Hunter universe, the Hunter's Association makes it a point to know about many details of the world, but I wanted, maybe even closer to needed, a rogue element, something that was a complete mystery to all parties, both Chimera Ants, the Hunter's Association, and any other parties involved in the conflict. So, I decided to throw in Eli's home, Eilsar.
> 
> Then there is the Chimera Ants. In the original series, it was hinted at that many of the Chimera Ants remembered their lives as whatever they were before they were eaten by the Queen, but for many of them, it was never explained exactly who or what they were, and so, I made my own guesses. It was also never explained if Neferpitou actually was somebody before they were a Chimera Ant, so I decided to write with the assumption that they were.
> 
> I'm sure you noticed the words, O'siyo and Wado, that Eli uses toward the beginning of the story. Those are the Cherokee Native American words for hello and thank you. While writing this I imagined Eli's people being something akin to the Native American people, so I decided to add in a nod to that in the form of Eli occasionally using their language. However, the name 'Eilsar,' does not come from any language, it is a word that I simply came up with.
> 
> Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. Thank you for allowing me to waste your time with my ramblings and excuses, and thank you once again for reading Nen Feaster; Part 1: The Boy and the Burden. I hope to see you next time in Part 2. I'm looking forward to it.
> 
> SEE YOU NEXT TIME!


End file.
